The Warrior of Chaos and Evolution
by HistorianoftheKais
Summary: Thanks to a reset in time, the future of Earth and another world are forever changed. Who will claim the sailor mantle of Eris as the 10th planet's first senshi?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: not mine, never will be, and if you can get here you'll have the ability to know that!

The solar system's astral plane was not a good place to be as Eris was completely pissed off. This was not a normal thing for a planetary spirit as extreme long life usually gave planetary spirits incredible patience. More often than not, whatever was annoying a planetary spirit would usually end before the spirit's patience ran out. However, Eris's temperament had gone from content to wrath of hell enraged in less then a minute.

Why was Eris so enraged? It was all very simple really. Luna's champion Sailor Moon had just used the Ginzushou to reset everything on Terra back to the way it was before the Dark Kingdom started their invasion. This reset stirred up things in the astral plane enough so that the planetary spirits were temporarily more sensitive to the future. Normally, this wouldn't be more than a minor annoyance for beings such as Eris. However, what Eris felt during that period enraged and horrified her.

The planetary spirit didn't know what exactly would happen in the future. Hell, no one really knew what the future would bring. What Eris did know is that there was a likely probability that something would happen that would greatly weaken the power of the planetary spirits in the solar system. These impressions told her that she would be imprisoned or corrupted somehow and that this would lead to her death.

Needless to say, Eris was enraged and terrified of what she had felt. Death was not something that spirits like her had to deal with. Even if her physical body was destroyed, an extremely unlikely situation given that it was a planet, she could always move to a young star system and forge a new physical body for herself. In order for Eris to die like she sensed, both her physical body and astral soul would have to be destroyed.

Eris created a projection of a young woman and had it appear on her physical body. She then looked at the stars from this projection's point of view and tried to think of a way out of the impending danger. Normally planetary spirits wouldn't project their astral selves outside the astral realm, but no one could ever accuse Eris of being normal.

The bronze skinned crimson haired woman put her hands on her hips and started talking to herself. "Alright Eris, how are you going to get yourself out of this mess? You don't know what might happen in the future to cause yourself to die. Argh! I hate these temporal scenarios. You can't tell whether doing or not doing something will lead you to your doom and you can't find out until it's too late!"

"Well said Eris." The planetary spirit quickly turned around to spot her unexpected visitor. Said visitor looked like a well built man in his late 30s or early 40s with a well groomed full beard.

Eris rolled her eyes at her uninvited visitor. "What are you doing here Sol? You star spirits usually don't hang out with us mere planetary spirits. Besides, you usually don't bother looking in these far reaches of your territory."

Sol nodded his head. "Very true Eris. But, until you leave my lands, your well being is my concern. I also felt what could happen to you thanks to Luna's champion. You may be one of my more troublesome subjects, but I don't want something like what we sensed to happen to you. I came here to offer you a suggestion on how you might be able to avert what we sensed. You could take on a champion of your own."

Eris immediately exploded at that suggestion. "WHAT! How can you even suggest that me?! In case you've forgotten, I deliberately didn't choose a champion back during the Silver Millennium because I didn't want to be tied to some prissy princess. Besides, having champions sure was great for everyone else." The sarcasm was practically dripping from Eris's mouth when she finished speaking.

Sol shook his head knowing it would take a good deal of convincing to get the stubborn spirit to do this for her own good. "You know that a champion doesn't have to be a princess, or even a girl for that matter. The fallacy of another spirit's champion does not have any bearing on the innate benefits that having a champion brings. You would have a conduit through which you could influence things on the physical plane outside of your physical body. A champion could fight off threats to you before they have a chance to hurt you."

"Even if you were weakened like those impressions suggested, a champion could still help you. A champion could still defend you even if all your other powers were locked away in the astral realm. Besides, the nature of the spirit-champion bond would help protect you from corrupting influences. Choose whomever among the humans to be your champion however you want to make the choice. Terra will not be able to complain about your selection with my backing."

Eris frowned as she considered Sol's words. After a long while she sighed and admitted defeat. "Fine then, I'll take a champion. But know this; my champion will not be some doe-eyed young girl with her head filled with fantasies or some goody-two-shoes nice guy. I'll only take the strongest fighter I can find with tolerable morals. My champion will have to win the privilege of wielding my power."

Sol nodded his head at Eris's announcement. "As you have declared, so shall it be. Whoever passes your challenges shall become your champion and known as the Soldier of Chaos and Evolution."

* * *

"That's my curry bread!" This claim was immediately protested by several dozen other boys as they all claimed that the last curry bread would be theirs. It was lunch time at the all-boys junior high; though with how the students were acting one might think it was feeding time at the zoo. Actually, the animals at the Tokyo zoo were more civilized than the boys when their meals were served. The lunch lady with the food item in question quickly threw it into the wild pack of boys and let them fight it out over who got the bread.

The question of who got the curry bread was quickly decided as one of the boys jumped above the crowd, kicked another boy who was leaping for the bread away, and snatched the desired food. All the other boys turned to watch as the bread claimant casually landed on the floor. Someone from within the crowd shouted out, "Damn it Saotome! You just can't always take the best bread in the school!"

Ranma Saotome turned around and grinned at the crowd. "And why's that Gorou? Its first come first serve remember. However," a playful grin formed on Ranma's face, "if you want it that badly you can always fight me for it." The cafeteria floor quickly descended into a mob smack down as Ranma quickly defeated his challengers. Most of the boys at the school practiced martial arts, but Ranma lived martial arts. The brawl ended two minutes after it began with Ranma kicking the last boy across the hall and into the trashcan while the cafeteria ladies critiqued his performance.

Problem solved, Ranma sat down on a bench and began to eat his lunch while reading his history textbook. The young Saotome didn't like studying for school, but he knew how to study enough so that his grades weren't terrible. Years ago, Ranma and his father had stayed at a dojo for a few weeks and the master there had pointed out that no one would want to be taught by an ignorant and non-certified instructor. Genma had scoffed at that martial arts master, but Ranma could see that there was a reason why he was Pops' only student. Ever since that day, Ranma had forced himself to study just enough so that he clearly knew what was being taught. Luckily, the young Saotome's skill at learning martial arts carried over into academics so that he kept his B- average even with all the absences he had thanks to training trips.

After lunch, the rest of the school day blew by for Ranma and then he immediately headed home to spar with his father. If Ryoga had been around Ranma would have stopped and had a friendly spar. Sadly, the lost boy hadn't been seen for two days and Ranma was beginning to think that he wouldn't see his only real competition for the rest of the week. On his way back to the apartment, Ranma caused a bit of a ruckus as he walked across fence posts and ran on the roofs of the street vendors.

The young Saotome got into a defensive stance as he neared his apartment. Ranma waited a minute for an attack that never came and then scratched his head. "Huh? Why isn't Pops attacking? Must have gone to a bar early today." Ranma wasn't about to waste any time standing outside and quickly entered the apartment. To Ranma's surprise, he saw Genma sitting at the table talking with a woman in a business suit.

Genma noticed Ranma coming in and called out, "boy, get over here."

Ranma raised an eyebrow and did as he was told. "Hey pops, whose this?" It was rare for Genma to ever bring anyone over to the house. Usually he only socialized at the local bar.

The woman turned and smiled at Ranma allowing him to get a good look at her bronze complexion. "Hello Ranma, I am Eris and I am representing Discordia Defense Inc. It's a small company that handles private home defense issues for private citizens."

Ranma nodded his head as he listened to Eris's introduction. "Okay, so why are you here? It's not like Pops or I have anything that someone's going to be desperate or foolish enough to try stealing."

Genma suddenly smacked Ranma in the back of his head. "Be quiet boy! This isn't a time for sarcasm. Ms. Eris here has a job offer, though she won't tell me what it is about."

Eris smiled at the elder Saotome and replied, "That's because this is an offer for your son, Mr. Saotome. Since Ranma here is still a minor, we need your permission to make the offer. May I explain why I'm here now that your son has arrived?"

Once Genma nodded his head Eris started her explanation. "Discordia Defense looking for a new 'troubleshooter' if you will. We need someone young who is able to adapt to different situations and has the skill to succeed in stopping those who threaten our clients. Thus, we have turned to looking at young and skilled martial artists. Ranma here piqued our interest by being in the top 500 martial artists between 13-25 years of age and is thus on the list of invites to try out for our position as troubleshooter."

"If Ranma accepts our invitation, he would have to come with me back to corporate headquarters for testing and training. Ranma would, free of charge, be placed into training that would force his physical conditioning and martial arts skill to increase considerably. Please note that this training is designed to weed out great fighters from average fighters; over 80 of our accepted applicants can already use their chi and about half of them can use it as an attack of some sort. After three months of intensely hellish training, any remaining applicants will be put into a no restriction tournament with the winner becoming our new troubleshooter."

"Being our troubleshooter will grant you certain benefits if you managed to claim the position. The troubleshooter will have access to the extreme training grounds my company owns, a good annual salary that will allow one to live comfortably in Tokyo, and the job is effectively a part-time job requiring only a few hours per week of work. Even if you don't get the job, you will get stronger from the training we will put you under."

"Of course, you can always decide to not take my offer and we won't bother you again. Please keep in mind that this is a once and a lifetime opportunity. This offer goes with me when I walk out that door."

Genma frowned as he thought about what Eris told him and Ranma. On the plus side, she was offering the boy a job and was willing to give him a couple months free training even if he didn't get the position. On the other side, that was several months where he wouldn't be able to monitor his son's progress in The Art and the competition would be extremely fierce. The elder Saotome knew that he wouldn't have to worry too much about Ranma slacking off in his training; despite the insults, Genma knew that his son had a better work ethic then he did. Besides, The Art was life for Ranma and the boy not training would be like him not breathing.

The problem for Genma was the mention of Chi users. Ranma wasn't ready as of yet to tackle that kind of opponent. After all, the boy only started unconsciously tapping into his Chi a few weeks ago. Genma had been planning on subtly encouraging Ranma's chi usage for the next couple of months and then take him on a trip to teach Ranma basic manipulation before heading over to Soun's to fulfill the pledge. Many would claim that Genma was a fool who never thought about things more than five seconds in advance. To a certain extent this was true, but when it came to Ranma's training Genma showed where Ranma got his battle brains.

Ranma watched in silence as Genma continued to weight the pros and cons carefully until he finally spoke. "I will allow my son to do this, provided I can have an hour to prepare some scrolls for him to take. Given the time he'll be with you, I want to make sure that he keeps up in his training."

Eris nodded her head and replied, "That's fine. I'll be back in one hour to pick Ranma up. If he gets the job he'll see you in three months."

* * *

An hour later Eris returned to the Saotome household and watched as Genma handed Ranma small briefcase. "Look son, under normal circumstances I wouldn't let you know of these scrolls' existence let alone let you study them. Don't get a big head about it! I'm only letting you study these scrolls because there are more people out there with skills at a much higher level than I was expecting and it's possible you'll be facing them. These are the secret techniques of our school and they are extremely powerful. Whatever you do, don't abuse them and make sure to use restraint when you must use them. A man died because he misused what I taught him. Now, train hard and I'll test you when you get the job."

Eris ignored the heartfelt goodbye that Ranma gave his father. All she cared about at the moment was that her last contestant was coming and that her subtle mental suggestions on Genma had worked. The planetary spirit had set things up so that all her contestants would have access to the techniques they could be reasonably expected to pick up in their lives. What she wanted to see was who would take advantage of the opportunity and just who could improve the most by coming out on top.

Ranma quickly walked up to Eris ready to go. The planetary spirit silently led Ranma away from the Saotome apartment. After a few seconds Ranma asked, "So, where are we going and how long will it take us? I want to get started on my training."

Eris smiled and quickly replied, "Don't worry Ranma. It won't take us long to go to the training zone. In fact," Eris grinned as a cloud of smoke exploded around the duo. Ranma immediately started coughing until the smoke cleared away. "We are already here Ranma. Welcome to, well myself, the planet Eris."

Blinking his eyes, Ranma took his first look at the alien landscape. The landscape was hilly and rugged with many rocks and boulders spread here and there were large ponds. Some of these ponds had steam coming off of them and others had ice floating on them. There were a few small trees spread about with each one growing on the top of a large boulder. The sky was filled with stars, but the land was covered with enough light for Ranma to see like a lighted parking lot at a major store.

Ranma nervously turned to face Eris who merely grinned. "This will be your home for the training Ranma. There is a cave behind you that has a clean spring and a bush whose berries will rapidly aid in healing you. Inside the cave you are safe. Outside the cave you will be subjected to wildly changing and extreme weather along with shifting levels of gravity. Your only food for the next three months will come from the trees you see whose fruit will be re-grown every night. Please note that any excess food you collect will spoil by the end of the day. If you travel ten km away from the cave you'll encounter a ring of fire that will kill you if you try to cross it; for the length of your training you'll remain in this circle."

"Your training is simple. For the first month you must merely survive the harsh conditions around you. In the next month dangerous beasts will be sent after you in order to see how you'll do against the monsters that being my champion will require you to face. Finally, if you make it to the last month you'll have to face that plus I will make you face your worst nightmares every time you sleep. If this ever get to be too much for you just call out my name and beg me to take you home. I'll heal you up and send you back to your father. Good luck Ranma, I'll be watching."

Eris's astral form faded from Ranma's view and the magic holding back the environmental conditions ended. The young Saotome immediately crashed face first into the hard and unforgiving rock at his feet. Near hurricane strength blistering hot winds buffeted Ranma as he crawled on his belly towards the cave. A minute later, the gravity rapidly decreased allowing the wind to pick up Ranma and slam him into the side of the cave above the entrance. Falling to the cave entrance floor, Ranma muttered to himself, "What did I agree to?"

* * *

It was both frustrating and invigorating for Eris to observe the mortals still on her physical body. Eighty percent of all her contestants had dropped out of the competition the first day! She had been expecting many to drop out, but not so many or so soon. Still, it was probably better that those weaklings dropped out when they did. If they couldn't handle her, what good would they be as her champion?

"So how's the selection going Eris?" The planetary spirit whirled around to see Sol standing behind her. "Just incase your curious, Terra has been complaining to me about your competition. She said something about you being too rough on her tenants."

Eris quickly muttered, "Tell that useless bitch to back off. I collected the 500 best fighters within an acceptable age range for champion power infusion. Is it my fault that most of them couldn't take a little challenge?"

Sol quickly nodded his head, "True Eris. However, what you consider a little challenge is a bit different than what others would consider a little challenge. How are the remaining contestants fairing?"

Eris shrugged her shoulders as she replied. "Most are not up to my expectations as the majority just spends their time in their caves only braving the outside when it comes time to forage for food. I really expect them to wash out when the next phase of the testing begins tomorrow. Luckily, there are eight who have a real shot at being my champion. Most are from the various 'mystical kingdoms' that survived Metalia's Assault. Surprisingly, young Saotome is among them."

Sol blinked his eyes and asked, "Who? Sorry I don't keep track of all the humans living on Terra. In fact, I don't think that Terra herself keeps track of all of them."

"Honestly I didn't give much thought about the kid either. Sure he had some skill for his age, but he was in the 400s as a fighter for this competition. Not only is he the only one from that tier still in the competition, but that boy has been training outside like crazy. I actually had to increase production of his healing berries because of how often he uses them to train for 10 hours in the worst conditions he can find. His abilities over the last month have doubled in all categories and in some have tripled. If I had to rate him now, I'd say he has entered the top 50 fighters of the bracket I'm interested in."

The star spirit's mouth was hanging wide open for a moment as he listened to what Eris told him. "Unbelievable, I didn't realize that humans could improve like that."

"Normally they can't. However, the cut-down on healing time and the harsh environment have let Ranma gain the strength he would have in one month that he could have gotten in a year of constant fights with regular people. That's why I extended my invitation for this contest to so many people. Every once and a while you can find something useful while sifting through garbage."

* * *

Currently, Ranma was waist deep in one of the scalding hot ponds practicing a kata while compensating for the opposite pull of the wind and tide. Who could imagine a little pond having stronger tidal forces then the ocean? It was just another odd thing that Ranma simply had to take as a fact of life on Eris. After being alone for a month, Ranma had concluded that bizarre was the norm here and even then things were bizarre. Even things that one could think of counting on couldn't be counted on. Ranma couldn't count the number of times he saw the landscape change before his very eyes or had been hit by a geyser that had suddenly formed while he was in mid-jump.

And yet, Ranma loved every minute he was here in this strange land. Simple training that had once been a boring routine was once again something exciting. The area around his cave was like some training paradise out of an action anime. Ranma felt that he could live here for a hundred years and not get bored. Also, the stuff he was learning from Pops' study packet was mind-boggling. Who knew that Genma knew so much about chi or could create such amazing styles like the Yamasenken or Umisenken? Ranma hadn't started to learn his father's forbidden techniques; he had been too busy working on building up is chi. But, it amazed Ranma that his father could have such powerful techniques at his disposal.

This solitary training came to an abrupt end when a loud roar broke the silence of the landscape. Ranma whipped his head around towards the sound of the roar and cursed out, "Oh, hell!" There were seven lizard-like things running towards Ranma. Each of these creatures was a big as a eighteen wheeler truck, had a mouth filled with sharp teeth, there were bladed ridges running down their back, each toe on their feet had a 3 m long claw. To top all of this off, the creatures all looked like they were made of stone.

Ranma's brain quickly assessed the situation and told his body to get out of dodge. The young martial artist leaped into the air seconds before the closest beast reached that location. As soon as Ranma's feet touched the ground he raced off towards his cave. Eris had warned that she would send monsters to test him when the second month started. However, Ranma hadn't realized that the time had flown by so quickly, it was kind of hard to tell time in eternal twilight, or that those monsters would so big!

The monsters chased Ranma all the way back to his cave and started to prowl around the cave entrance. Inside the cave, Ranma had retrieved the briefcase that held his scrolls and retreated to the reading room. This room was a small alcove that could only be reached by walking down a side corridor of the cave that had a spiral shape. Ranma emerged from the blackness of the passageway into a room that was made up of clear crystals of various sorts allowing the light generated by magma to come in, but not the heat. This room was just another one of Eris's little oddities.

After sitting down, Ranma reached into the briefcase and pulled out the Yamasenken and the Umisenken scrolls. He placed them on the ground in front of him and thought about which scroll he should study. Part of Ranma was unsure if he was physically and mentally ready to use the styles. That part of Ranma's mind was quickly squashed by the fact that he wasn't going to get something to eat if he couldn't sneak by or beat up the monsters outside.

Finally, Ranma picked up the Umisenken scroll and began to studiously learn the concepts and techniques of the silent thief. The thought of being able to beat those monsters head to head was cool, but Ranma wanted to insure that he could eat first. At its core, the Umisenken was based on the idea of a silent, sneaky thief who would sneak in through the backdoor and steal everything without being noticed. Not exactly the most noble of origins, but Ranma wasn't going to complain if it got him dinner.

The young Saotome read through the scroll three times and then started to practice in the reading room. At the moment, all Ranma wanted to do was learn how to mask his chi with that of the natural environment as dictated by the opening stance. The chi masking training was difficult; especially since Ranma didn't have anyone to tell him if they saw him. Luckily, Ranma had been able to use his reflection on the crystal walls to keep track of his progress.

Now, Ranma was able to do this because of how the chi masking technique worked. All living beings were some what in tune with chi because they were alive. This minute and unconscious sensitivity helped to focus a person's five senses by letting a person know that there was something to focus onto. By masking one's chi, the Umisenken hid the chi 'beacon' that was used by other beings to notice one's presence thereby making the person seemingly invisible and virtually undetectable. There were of course ways of detecting one who used the Umisenken to mask their chi. These methods relied on non-living means of deception like taking a photograph.

After several hours of intense training, a starving Ranma left the reading room and then exited the cave. The first test of the Umisenken came in the form of one of those earlier monsters patrolling near the cave opening. Ranma crept by the beast on his tiptoes with beads of sweet rolling down his face. Soon enough, Ranma and the beast parted ways allowing Ranma to carefully let out the breath that he had been holding. It looks like it was Umisenken 1, Monster 0.

Ranma quickly sped off to the nearest food tree only to find three more monsters sleeping at the base of the tree. After gulping, Ranma carefully crept by one of the sleeping monster's head next to their big and shine teeth. Passing by the jaws of certain doom, the young Saotome quickly climbed the tree and started collecting the strange fruit that had sustained him this past month.

Unfortunately for Ranma, Eris had been looking in on how he was doing and decided that he needed a little motivation. She suddenly increased the gravity pulling on one of the fruits so that it would fall on a monster's head. Ranma quickly spotted the falling fruit and nabbed it before it could hit the sleeping beast. This little routine repeated itself until Ranma had been forced to collect all the fruit on the tree. Eris then decided to show why the house always won by creating geysers and using them to wake up the sleeping beasts.

One of the beasts hit the tree with its tail as it woke up causing Ranma to fall and land on the face of another monster. This startled Ranma so badly that he let go of the Umisenken, not exactly the best thing to do when one is on a creature that wants to skewer you. The monsters immediately sensed Ranma and went on a rampage. It took all of Ranma's skill to avoid becoming dinner as he ran like hell back to his cave with his own dinner in hand. Meanwhile, Eris was laughing her butt off on the astral plane as she watched the whole thing.

* * *

Author's note: I know that someone is going to complain about this so let me explain: Genma didn't give the senkens to Ranma just because he wanted to. Eris planted the suggestion in his mind that encouraged him to give these schools to Ranma. She wants her contestants to be as strong as possible and to encourage their growth in order to have the best possible champion to be her senshi. Eris ensured Ranma got the senkens because as Genma's son and heir he has the right to learn them.


	2. Chapter 2

The contest that Eris had started two months ago with 500 contestants had seen its participants drop to a mere handful. Most of those who had lasted through the first month of merely surviving the harsh and wild environment of Eris had dropped out when faced with the monsters the planetary spirit had unleashed. Currently, Eris was floating in the Astral Plane looking at her remaining potential champions. She soon began to talk to herself. "Yes, all of them are coming along marvelously. Any one of them is physically strong enough to wield my power. Even that Saotome kid is at an acceptable level."

Eris then grinned to herself and began to peer into the remaining eight's hearts and minds. She was looking for their greatest and darkest fears so that she could bring those fears to life in nightmares. A person's physical strength was important to Eris, but she also valued a person's mental strength. Being a champion involved a person facing whatever horrors the universe could potentially throw at the champion. Eris was not about to claim a champion who would run in fear. Only someone who could either conquer or control their fear was mentally fit enough to be a champion.

Soon enough Eris found out what her remaining challengers were most afraid of. She was so surprised at some of the fears that she blurted out, "What the Tatarus? Why would anyone have cats, getting married, or being turned into a woman as their greatest fears? Oh Neko-ken, well being subjected to that messed up berserker technique can explain away that Saotome brat's fear. But seriously, what's going on with that Amazon girl and that Musk prince?"

The planetary spirit fumed for a few minutes about the weirdoes she was counting on to defend her. After Eris let off some steam she cracked her knuckles and muttered to herself. "Oh well, weird fears only mean that they won't fear the regular tricks. Now how can I really make these contestants scream in terror?"

Eris was so involved in her efforts that she never bothered to notice that she had company. The other planetary spirits looked at Eris and shook their heads. "What's going through that crazy broad's mind this time?" Jupiter muttered.

Terra scowled and practically growled out, "I can't believe it. How can Sol let her get away with treating MY tenets like that?" Similar sentiments came from the other spirits as they watched the black sheep of the system really get into her work.

* * *

Ranma gulped down a lump in his throat as his body quivered in terror. His mind was racing to try and figure out how the hell he had gotten into his present situation. The last thing he could recall was lying down in his cave after hard day's work of training. So, how did he end up bound in a pit with a whole bunch of starving tigers?

Almost as soon as Ranma was aware of the situation he began looking around for a way to escape. His arms and legs were tightly bound in chains. Furthermore, the two sets of limbs were connected to each other behind Ranma's back. The young Saotome boy tried to think of a way to free himself. Ranma was sure that if only it was just his arms or his legs that were bound he could escape. However, he didn't know a technique that would let him break free with both bound. All the while, the terror within him kept on growing.

The nearest tiger roared at Ranma and then leaped towards the young martial artists. Something within Ranma snapped as he saw the tiger leap towards him and the boy let loose a roar in challenge. Cat Ranma quickly used his claws to slash the chains off and he then landed on all fours. Both the Tiger and Cat Ranma started circling each other looking for an opening.

It was the tiger that made the first move by lashing out at Cat Ranma. The berserker martial artist leaped into the air and slashed at his opponent with his front paws. Blades made out vacuum rushed at the tiger killing it instantly. Cat Ranma then charged at the other tigers ready to drive the offending males from his territory. The slaughter was swift and brutal as the berserker tore into the tigers. Soon enough, only Cat Ranma remained in the pit. He then leaped up the walls of the pit and escaped into a lush forest.

Cat Ranma began looking around his territory trying to find something to eat or drink. After a few minutes of searching, the berserker paused to sniff the air. He caught the delectable sent of a female in heat and rushed off. The feline acting boy soon caught up to a bronze and crimson stripped tigress that was drinking from a nearby stream. Cat Ranma moved to approach the tigress only to be met hostility. Nevertheless, Cat Ranma was just as stubborn as his human counterpart and eventually got the tigress receptive to him.

Just as Cat Ranma was about to mate with the tigress, an anvil fell on his head from the sky turning him into a pancake. The tigress then shifted her form to reveal Eris crouching on the grass next to the unconscious young man. Eris stood up, put her hands on her hips, and shook her head. "That was pathetic Ranma." She then snapped her fingers causing Ranma's mindscape to revert back to the pit. Eris blinked her eyes and Ranma was bound just as he had been and another batch of tigers appeared. Before leaving the pit Eris placed a soft peck on his cheek. "Try to last longer next time."

Ranma woke up just after Eris vanished to find himself right where he had started out. This cycle of events repeated itself again and again throughout the night and every time Ranma tried to get to sleep that month. The young martial artist was always exhausted when he woke up and tried to ignore the nightmares Eris was sending him. Unknown to Ranma, he always managed to hold onto his sanity for a few seconds longer during each cycle in the pit. Furthermore, the cat persona started to slowly become more in sync with Ranma's true self.

* * *

A month of constantly fighting monsters during the day and being repeatedly subjected to nightmares during the night had really taken its toll on Ranma. There were bags under Ranma's eyes from the lack of sleep. His muscles were aching from all the training and fighting he went through daily. Only two things kept the young Saotome boy from calling it quits. The first thing was the training Ranma was receiving from being on Eris. Secondly, the boy was simply too stubborn to throw in the towel.

Ranma practically dragged himself into his cave after fighting for his dinner and then crawled over to where the regenerative berries grew. He quickly grabbed a handful and devoured them. Relief soon came to Ranma as the magic in the berries took away the pain and started mending his body.

The next thing Ranma did was roll over onto his back and he stared at the cave ceiling. In most places, a ceiling is a rather uninteresting thing. However, boring did not exist on Eris. Before Ranma's eyes the cave ceiling continually changed. Stalactites constantly grew and shrank while veins of semi-precious minerals danced across the ceiling like fire in a fireplace. Ranma found the whole effect of this rather soothing as the ceiling was just active enough to keep from being boring while not being too active that he couldn't relax.

Suddenly, Ranma's quiet solitude ended when the sound of clapping started echoing throughout the cave. Ranma immediately sprang to his feet and slipped into a defensive stance. A voice immediately called out to Ranma from all directions, "Marvelous, simply marvelous. Your training these past three months has done you wonders Ranma Saotome."

Ranma quickly realized who was talking to him and he relaxed his guard slightly. "Would it hurt to show yourself Eris? Why are you here?"

A crimson haired, bronzed skin woman wearing an outfit inspired by the clothing that many artists typically drew the Greek goddess Artemis in appeared. Eris shook her head slightly as she looked at Ranma. "Silly boy, I am this planet. You've been seeing me every waking minute since you arrived here." The planetary spirit paused for a second and an almost predatory gleam appeared in her eye. Suddenly, her outfit vanished and the now nude Eris continued talking. "Still, I suppose that for a human like you it's easier to talk with someone that is at least vaguely human."

Only the most perverted teenage bit wouldn't get a little nervous being in the same area as an attractive woman like Eris. Ranma was a bit on the shy side immediately blushing and looking down at the ground. Unfortunately for Ranma, Eris wasn't ready just yet to stop teasing him. The planetary spirit immediately shifted her projected astral form behind Ranma and grabbed the young man pulling him close to her. She then began whispering sensuously into his ear. "What's the matter Ranma? You've admired my body and been inside me. Why so shy all of a sudden?"

Ranma was about ready to pass out at this point when Eris decided to stop her teasing. Eris shifted her astral form back to being clothed and in front of Ranma. She also adopted a no nonsense demeanor snapping Ranma out of his shyness induced stupor. "This is your notice that the three months of training are over Ranma. Congratulations on being one of seven individuals who were capable of surviving the training."

"Now then, you've got a choice before you Ranma. You can either choose to quit now or fight in the tournament to decide who the champion will be. If you quit, you'll be sent back to Earth as you are. If you continue, you'll be put in a tournament to decide who will be my champion granting you power the likes of which you can only imagine. However, there is a catch with this tournament. If you lose either by death or defeat, you'll be sent back to Earth with all your memories and training here erased. The choice is up to you. Will you deem yourself satisfied at your current level knowing that you had the chance to be so much greater or, are you willing to risk everything to achieve that goal?"

Ranma quickly made up his mind on his choice. "I haven't backed away from a challenge yet and I won't do so now. I'll enter this tournament of yours."

Eris smiled at the young Saotome and then snapped her hands. The cave vanished and the duo was now in a regal looking bedchamber. "Welcome to Dysnomia Castle Ranma. This room will be yours to rest up for the tournament tomorrow. Any dish you want to eat can be summoned by holding the lid on that food cart and thinking about what you want. An alarm will go off an hour before the tournament begins. When that alarm rings, simply go through that door to your right and you'll arrive at the arena."

The planetary spirit vanished as soon a she finished speaking leaving Ranma alone in his chambers. Ranma quickly found the bathroom and enjoyed a nice long hot bath. After that, he had dinner and watched some TV. Finally, he went to bed and rested up for the tournament.

* * *

The arena was dark underground cavern with a huge slab of stone floating above a pit of lava with smaller floating stones connecting it to the arena entrance. Ranma gulped as he looked out at the lava. It was quite obvious why the matches would be until defeat or death. Giving the lava one last good glance, Ranma turned his head to look for his fellow competitors. However, Ranma could only see Eris standing next to the arena exit looking incredibly enraged. "Uh Eris, where are the other competitors?"

Eris suddenly exploded in rage yelling out loud enough to cause the entire arena to shake. "THOSE NO GOOD JERKS DECIDED TO QUIT LAST NIGHT!!!! HOW DARE THEY DECIDE TO QUIT AFTER AGREEING TO MY TOURNAMENT. THIS IS THE THANKS I GET FOR GIVING YOU PEOPLE A LITTLE R&R BEFORE A DEATH MATCH?!"

Ranma had been blown away by Eris's ranting and was plastered with his back on the wall. He pulled himself out of the wall and then took a step towards Eris. "Uh, does that mean that I win the tournament?"

Eris fell to her knees and started wailing out her response. "Yes damn it! Why is it that I'm stuck with the weakest finalist as my champion?! It's just not fair! I wanted Prince Herb or that ninja Itachi to be my champion."

At this point Ranma's pride got the better of him and he quickly got front of Eris's face. "Hey! What's the matter with me winning and why the hell were you hoping for someone else to win?"

The irate planetary spirit sent Ranma a glare that could kill an elephant as she responded to his demand. "Let me spell it out for you, you're the W-E-A-K-E-S-T, weakest person to survived the three months of training! Your closest competitor stats wise was twice as strong as you. Well, at least they were before those bums ran out and lost all the progress they made. Their loss of progress has placed you second among them given what they were when they first arrived."

"Don't get me wrong Ranma, you're a powerful fighter and you made tremendous progress in your training. However, I was simply expecting you to be a nice warm-up for one of the other finalists when you decided to continue on with the tournament. A challenging warm-up to be sure, but the odds were extremely high against you."

"And yet," A voice boomed out surprising both Eris and Ranma, "the boy has emerged as the winner of the tournament." Sol's astral form suddenly appeared and the solar spirit continued on. "Strength, adaptability, and luck are what allow individuals and races to survive in chaotic environments. Those that survive and thrive in chaos pass down those traits which allowed them to do so well to the next generation. It is thus that the process of evolution occurs."

"The boy Ranma is a clear example of luck coming into play. He was the weakest fighter in your tournament, but he had something that the other competitors didn't have: a lack of outside influences. He only had to risk losing three months of training, your other competitors' risked loosing status and other negative consequences if they returned home after 3 months of training with nothing to show. It simply luck that the boy would be so stubborn and willing to risk everything even after a chance to think it over in a much more peaceful location."

Sol's explanation annoyed Eris, but she accepted what he was saying. Any thoughts that the solar spirit had stacked the deal for Ranma were squashed by Eris. She knew that Sol would not and did not interfere in her competition. The planetary spirit sighed. "You're right Sol." She then turn to Ranma and gave his a mildly friendly smile. "I, the spirit Eris of Sol's domain, do hereby declare Ranma Saotome, the son of Genma and Nodoka Saotome, to be the winner of my competition. From henceforth, Ranma Saotome will be my champion on the mortal plane."

There was a flash of light that emanated from Eris signaling that her champion had been selected. Sol then started glowing with a golden light and he regally began to speak. "I Sol, Lord of all within my reach, do hereby approve of the sprit Eris's choice of champion." He then turned to look Ranma in the eye before continuing. "Do you, Ranma Saotome accept your position of champion for the spirit Eris? Are you willing to fight in her name to the utmost of your abilities to defend her and any innocents you may find in harms way even if it might mean your death?"

It didn't take long for Ranma to make his decision. "Yes," he stated in a very clear and determined tone. The young martial artist knew from the beginning that if he won he'd be doing some sort of guard job. This wasn't exactly what he was expecting, but it was close enough. Besides, something about this reminded Ranma of all the tales his father used to tell about his samurai ancestors. The champion position didn't seem too different from the duties the samurai had to perform for their overlords.

Sol nodded his head and then finished his part of the initiation ceremony. "Your oath to Eris has been given and witnessed. From this day forward you shall be the Warrior of Chaos and Evolution. With this title you are charged with protecting life along with the means by which life can grow and thrive. Let your Lady and Benefactor now proclaim the name by which you shall ride into battle."

Eris grinned and stated, "Senshi Eris will be your battle name." There was another flash of light signaling the end of the impromptu ceremony. Sol then sent the planetary spirit a questioning glance to which she quickly responded. "What? He's not a girl so I don't have to use that annoying Sailor convention in his name. Furthermore, Terra is the only other spirit in your territory to have a male champion which means that the male naming convention has not been locked. Ranma may not have been my first original choice, but he's my warrior and will be known as such!"

Knowing Eris as he did, Sol simply took the spirit's antics in stride. The solar spirit then got to the last reason why he was in this neck of the woods. "Now that entitlement is completed, Senshi Eris needs to be empowered. Eris, how will you proceed with empowering your champion?"

The maverick planetary spirit snapped her fingers and the arena that had previously been set up vanished in a puff of smoke. Both Ranma and Sol started to get nervous when they saw the lava below start to bubble. Ranma's danger sense started blaring on full alert when he saw that the lava's color started randomly shifting colors. Eris calmly stated, "It's simple. All Ranma has to do to be empowered is to jump into the pit below."

"WHAT!" Eris and Sol turned around to see an annoyed Ranma. "Why do I have to jump into a pit of boiling lava? Seriously, isn't there a less painful way for me to become empowered?"

Ranma never noticed the gleam in Eris's eye as he started ranting. His ranting stopped when he felt Eris pressing herself against his back. The young Saotome started getting nervous and flustered when Eris started sensuously whispering in his ear. "Perhaps I could empower you in another way. Would a more intimate setting be to your liking?"

It was almost comical for Sol to watch as Ranma bolted away from Eris and jumped into the lava. The satisfied grin on Eris's face told Sol that she had planed for this to happen. He could only wonder what Eris was planning for her champion's senshi form. Knowing her, it was bound to be something outlandish and that broke all the norms for magical warriors.

Sol wasn't disappointed when the lava spat out a smoke covered person who had to be Ranma onto the edge of the rock cliff. The smoke soon dissipated and Sol wanted to smack his forehead when he got his first look at Senshi Eris. The first thing that caught Sol's attention was the thick, red hair that wildly flowed down to Senshi Eris's knees. Next, the warrior's face was dominated by a black Hand of Eris that went across his face like a mask covering his now cat-like red eyes. The rest of the face was covered in dark blue paint. Senshi Eris's outfit was something that a heavy metal rock star from the 80s would have worn. He had a studded leather jacket, black half-gloves, spandex pants, studded shin guards, and boots.

Senshi Eris broke the silence caused by his appearance. "Whoa! This is incredible; I've got to be at least 10 times stronger than I originally was."

Eris grinned at her champion's remarks. "Actually, the physical enhancements in this form are 13 times that of your base form. That is not considering the magical defenses you've gained along with the large energy well you've gain through your connection with me. Now then, you're going to stay here for the next week to learn about your new abilities and then you'll return to Earth."

* * *

Ranma appeared in a back alley wearing a white Chinese shirt and black silk pants. He took a moment to adjust his backpack and then left the alley. According to Eris, his father had been spending the past three months living back with his mother. It had been quite a shock for Ranma to find out that his mother was still alive. However, Ranma didn't let that phase him as he followed the direction Eris had given.

Soon enough, Ranma reached a small townhouse in a neighborhood on the outskirts of Nerima. He double-checked that he had the right number and then rang the doorbell. A few moments later, the door opened to reveal Nodoka standing in the door. The Saotome matriarch looked at Ranma and softly whispered, "Ranma? Is that you? Is, is that really you?"

Not trusting his voice, Ranma simply nodded his head. Nodoka quickly flung herself at Ranma scooping her son up in a hug as tears freely fell down her face. "Oh Ranma, I missed you so much! Your father said that you were going away on special training." She then moved him to arms length and muttered, "Let me get a good look at you. My, how strong and handsome you've grown. That class picture Genma showed me just doesn't do you justice."

Ranma just blushed under his mother's inspection. Nodoka quickly led her son inside and motioned for him to sit at the dinning room table. Meanwhile, the Saotome Matriarch hurried about getting things ready for some tea. She had just put the kettle on to boil when she started the conversation again. "Your father told me that you were entered into a three month long training session for a job that required a strong martial artist. Care to tell me about that?"

Thinking quickly, Ranma gave an edited story. "That's true. I was recruited as a free agent/bodyguard in a private security agency. They needed someone who could handle tough situations so they recruited me and many others as potential agents. For training, I had to survive in the wilderness which happened to be a desert. After we got used to roughing it in the desert, they started posting guards by the only source of food so every day I had to fight to eat. I got the job because I was the only one to make it through the training and not quit."

Nodoka smiled as she heard Ranma's description of the training. It defiantly something that only a real man among men could endure. She then brought the tray holding everything needed for tea over to the table, placed the tray on the table, and then sat down opposite Ranma. Nodoka then asked, "So son, are you going to continue school or are you going to be working full time?"

Ranma sighed. "I'll go back to school in the fall Mom with the rest of my year mates. My employer got me to take the tests to complete junior high and wants me to continue my education while I work. My boss told me that, 'Having a dumb guard is like having a dull sword'. Test scores weren't fantastic, but I'll be able to get into a fair number of good high schools."

Nodoka clapped her hands together. "Oh Ranma, it does me good to see that you're working your mind as well as your body. Do make sure to find a good looking smart girl when you go to school. If she's an upper classmen, then that's even better!" Visions of grandchildren started flowing through Nodoka's mind.

Luckily for Ranma, his mother was too distracted by thoughts of grandchildren to notice how uncomfortable Ranma was at her declarations. This awkward moment ended when the tea pot started to whistle snapping Nodoka out of her day dreams. Nodoka quickly picked up the tea pot and made some tea for the duo. They then started talking about everything that had happened over the 10 year long separation.

There was a knock at the door an hour after Ranma arrived. Ranma quickly got up from the table and told his mother that he'd get the door. He opened the door to find a large panda standing in the doorway. Everything suddenly got weirder just as Ranma tried to figure out why a panda was standing there because the panda suddenly pulled out a sign. The young champion of Eris was so surprised that he read the sign out loud. "Hello boy – get your poor father some hot water – I'll explain after that?"

Ranma didn't even bother to figure out how a two sided sign could have three sides. He simply turned his head and called out. "Mom, we've got a panda at the front door asking for some hot water? What should I do?"

Nodoka's answer quickly came as she called out, "Its okay Ranma just let your father in. I've got some water heating up dear. You'll be able to change back in just a few minutes." Ranma then watched as the Panda walked on his hind legs towards the kitchen. What had happened while in was gone?

Shortly after this little incident, the three members of the Saotome family were sitting at the kitchen table. Nodoka quickly started to fill Ranma in on his father's situation. "While you were gone, your father went on a short trip to China. He had been planning to take you there before that job offer came and wanted to see if there were any good places for the two of you to go train at after you got back. Unfortunately, one of the training grounds is cursed so that if you fall into spring there you turn into the last thing that drowned in the spring. Every time your father gets splashed with cold water he is turned into a panda. Luckily, hot water reverses the effects of this curse."

Genma simply grumbled, "How was I to know that the springs were cursed? It's not like they had a big warning: DO NOT USE TRAINING GROUNDS AS THEY ARE CURSED WE ARE NOT JOKING sign up every fifty feet on the path to the training ground written in many languages."

Ranma blinked his eyes and wondered about his father's stupidity. He then muttered to himself, "Glad I wasn't with you."

Genma took offense at that remark and shot back, "Your right it's a good thing you didn't come with me. Why, if you'd been there you'd probably turn into a little girl!"

Nodoka sent both her boys a firm glance and as she held up her tea cup. "Now, now boys, it's unmanly to for the two of you to carry on like that. Ranma, you should be grateful that your father was willing to go through such trouble and pain in order to see that you turned out into a man among men. Genma, you should not tease your son about things like that."

Twin replies of "Yes Mom," and "Yes Dear" came from the Saotome men. A small grin formed on Nodoka's face as she thought about how easy it was to get her strong men to listen to her. She then put down her tea cup and began to clear away the tea set.

Once the tea set was cleaned up, Nodoka turned around to address her family. "Let's go out to eat tonight. It's been so long since all three of us were together so I think we should celebrate."

Genma's face soured at that pronouncement. "But dear, I don't get paid until Thursday and the fun money for the week has been spent." The fun money never lasted past Friday night when Genma went out for his drinking binge at the local bar.

Ranma quickly spoke up, "It's okay. I can cover dinner." The young man got defensive thanks to the glances his parents were sending him. "What? The training was paid training for whoever got the job. It's all set up at the bank so all I have to do is withdraw some yen and then we can go out to eat."

Nodoka clapped her hands together. "That's wonderful Ranma. Isn't wonderful dear that Ranma can do this?" Genma nodded his head. He wasn't one to pass up free food. However, it was a little embarrassing that Ranma was able to do this when his wife asked and he could. As Genma and the rest of the family headed out, the Saotome patriarch comforted himself with the fact that this should make Ranma all the more appealing to Soun's daughters.


	3. Chapter 3

Grocery shopping was one of Kasumi's favorite activities of the day. It was a chance for her to get out of the house, meet with some of her friends, and have fun looking for the best deals. Currently, Soun's eldest daughter was walking down the spice row when she noticed a young man with a shopping cart standing in the middle of the isle. Kasumi quickly noticed that the teenager was constantly glancing between a list in his hand and the shelves along the aisle. The eldest Tendo sister took pity on the young man and walked up to him. "Excuse me, but do you need any help?"

Ranma snapped his head around and was surprised to see a pretty older girl cheerfully standing in front of him. "Perhaps," Ranma quickly answered. "I just can't find this particular seasoning here and I promised Mom that I'd pick up everything on the list." The planetary champion thought it was ridiculous. He had the power to tear through supernatural enemies, but he couldn't find one stupid spice in a grocery store!

Kasumi quickly read the spice listed on the shopping list and then smiled. "Oh I know where they keep this one. You'll have to go to next row. This spice is kept by the boxed dinner's section."

The young warrior nodded his head grateful for the assistance. "Thank you for your help. I wouldn't know how I would have managed if you hadn't come along miss-"

"My name is Kasumi Tendo and I am please to be able to help you. It's not often I see young men like you willing to help out their folks. Your parents must be proud of you."

Ranma was surprised to here the comment about his parents. "I like to think they are. Well, thanks again for your assistance Miss. Tendo." With that, Ranma politely bowed his head and proceeded to push his cart down the lane.

Once in the correct lane, Ranma quickly picked up the spice and put it in his cart. His mind then started to wander and think about how much his life had changed over the past couple of months. He now had a job that was just about perfect for his life. Pops no longer forced him to do those crazy crack of dawn spars. Knocking the old man out with one punch did wonders in that regard. His mother, who he had honestly previously thought was dead, thought he was growing into a fine young man. Although, her obsession with 'manliness' was rather bizarre. Finally, he had grown up and matured in his outlook on life. There was nothing like constant life or death struggle to make one see how childish they were.

This quiet musing abruptly ended when a loud shriek cut above the usual buzz of people shopping. This shriek signaled the start of a panicked stamped for the exit on the part of the store's customers. Ranma quickly peaked around the corner of the aisle and saw the reason for the terror. Standing on the meat tray was a Youma with another one by the dairy section. A quick check with his chi senses told Ranma that there were two more youmas somewhere else in the store.

Ranma hurriedly looked around to see if there was anyone else nearby. Spotting no one, the young warrior crossed his arms over his chest preparing to transform. "Eris Planet Power," the young man's arms were now crackling with bluish-black energy as he uncrossed his arms, "Glamour On!" A bluish-black cloud of smoke burst from Ranma's feet and quickly engulfed him. Shortly thereafter the smoke dissipated to reveal Senshi Eris.

The red-headed warrior had a feral grin on his face as he thought about the fight ahead. Finally, his training would be put to the test! Senshi Eris rushed out of the aisle and dashed at the closest youma. When Senshi Eris was ten feet away from the Youma on the meat he yelled out, "Chaos Claws!" Each of the champion's hands was instantly covered in a bluish-black glow and from this glow came four energy claws for each hand. The Youma didn't have time to react as Senshi Eris closed the distance between the two in the blink of an eye and promptly gutted the monster.

A gasp/growl of shock came from youma by the dairy products. This wasn't how things were supposed to go! Humans were supposed to flee before them and any resistance was supposed to come from magical girls in indecent clothing. The youma snarled at its red-haired adversary. "I'll make you dead for what you've done. Now taste my FREEZE GUST!" With that, the youma's chest expanded like a balloon and then it let out a blast of magically chilled air.

Senshi Eris instantly thrust out his right hand calling out his response to the youma's Freeze Gust, "Chaos Slash!" Bluish-Black energy shot out of Eris's hand in a vertical blade towards the youma. A smirk appeared on Senshi Eris's face as the Chaos Slash cut through the Freeze Gust. It had taken him hours of training to be able to launch the Chaos Slash like he hand instead of having to create a wide arc with his arm. The Chaos Slash quickly cut through the Freeze Gust and then sliced the youma in two.

Red eyes narrowed as Senshi Eris concentrated on finding the last two youma. He quickly located them on the other side of the store aisles and then rushed down the nearest aisle. "Oh Hell," Senshi Eris cursed as soon as he could see the remaining monsters. They were each holding a person and draining their energy. What really ticked the warrior off was that Kasumi was one of two hostages.

What was he supposed to do? The youmas were draining the humans growing stronger every second while hurting the humans. If he used Chaos Slash the humans could be turned into meat shields. Close quarters fighting also had a high chance of hurting the hostages. After a second of consideration, Senshi Eris decided he'd have to use one of his set moves.

Normal champions only had a set number of abilities to use that were created entirely by the spirit they were allied to. With such moves the caster merely decided to use them, say the activation phrase, and then let the magic take over. Eris didn't particularly like this setup and had mostly shaped Senshi Eris's powers so that most of his attacks were supercharged augmented variations of his normal abilities. However, she had gifted her champion two very powerful set abilities.

Senshi Eris slammed his fists together at chest level and began to chant. "You are in my Realm, the Realm of Confusion." A bluish-black sphere suddenly burst out from the champion's joined fists expanding to fill the entire store in less then a second. Everything inside the sphere gained a bluish-black tint. Senshi Eris paid this no heed as he continued to use his most powerful and exhausting technique. "Within this realm, my will is the will of god."

As soon as Senshi Eris said this, Kasumi and the other hostage faded through their captors' claws. The startled youma tried to grab the two people again. However, each time the monsters tried their claws just past harmlessly through the humans. One of the youma turned to Senshi Eris and yelled out. "What have you done?!"

Hiding the strain of the technique with a smirk, Senshi Eris shot back, "Weren't you paying attention? I'm god in this domain. It is my will that no human be able to be harmed by you and so it is." Inside his head, the young champion was running through what options he now had available. The Realm of Confusion allowed him to use chaos and rewrite the laws of reality according to his whims However, it had three serious drawbacks. He couldn't move once the realm was established or the realm ended. There was a proportional drain on his power reserves for how far the normal laws of reality were warped. Finally, there was a constant drain in the champion's power in order to keep the realm up.

The champion knew that if he didn't think of something soon he'd be right back where he started minus a serious chunk of his power. For a second he thought about erasing the youma's existence. However, Senshi Eris didn't have the power left for a change of that magnitude. He quickly extended his senses throughout his realm looking for something to use. Senshi Eris quickly took note of a gas stove in the deli that was still on and grinned. "You are within my Realm, the Realm of Confusion. Within this realm, my will is the will of god."

Without warning, two enormous pillars of fire burst out of the deli and raced towards the shocked youma. The shocked youma tried to get out of the way, but the columns of fire quickly caught up to the monsters. Each column wrapped itself around a youma and incinerated its prisoner. Once the monsters were finished, the fires disappeared.

Immediately after the fire disappeared, Senshi Eris let his hands separate ending the Realm of Confusion. He let out a sigh of relief and muttered, "Memo to me, train for hostage situations." That was the last time in a long while that Eris's champion would use that technique if he had anything to say about it. The young warrior quickly checked to make sure that Kasumi and her companion were okay before leaving to transform back to normal.

* * *

"Okay Ranma that was not exactly what I was hoping for with your first real battle as my champion."

"I know Eris"

"Seriously Ranma, you shouldn't have had to call up the Realm of Confusion for such weaklings. You've been trained to fight enemies without having to resort to using your ultimate attacks. Such things are permissible for those greenhorns the other Spirits have, but not for you."

"I get the idea Eris."

"Good, I know that you won't make such a mistake again. I will admit that I haven't prepared you very well to deal with enemies who have a hostage, but I will insure that this oversight will be corrected. Any questions Ranma?"

"I've got just one, when will you stop step dancing on my back?" Currently, Ranma was in Dysnomia Castle doing pushups over an open fire with 600 lbs of weights strapped onto his chest. Such a tame training exercise normally wouldn't have bothered Ranma. However, Eris's was currently on his back going through a dance routine that seemed like a tryout for Riverdance. Of course, Eris being Eris she had set it up so that her shoes shocked Ranma every time she put her foot down.

Without any warning, Eris jumped off of Ranma and twilled around in the air. She then promptly shifted her avatar's form so that it was lying on the ground in front of Ranma in the nude. Ranma's eyes bulged out in shock and he lost all concentration causing him to fall into the fire.

Eris rolled her eyes at her champion's antics and then took pity on him. With a mere thought, the planetary spirit snuffed out the flames and healed Ranma. She then shifted him to the baths of Dysnomia Castle and willed a modest one-piece bathing suit onto her avatar's form. The planetary spirit then started to give her champion a massage to sooth away the mental pain. "Seriously Ranma, you really need to stop reacting like that every time you see some skin. Your supposed peers are all young women who prance around in outfits that are more appropriate for bedroom role playing than actual fighting. Do you want to freeze up if by some bizarre chance you have to fight alongside them? What if you have to fight a female demon like a succubus if you react like this?"

There was a slight blush on Ranma's face as he listened to what Eris was saying as her magical hands worked on his back. "I don't know Eris. I guess I'd try to do my job despite the distractions." Ranma paused for a minute to think about something before he spoke again. "Couldn't you know, make it so that I can't get distracted while I'm Senshi Eris?"

Immediately after Ranma said this he came to regret it as Eris jabbed her fingernails into the young man's back and then hissed into his ear. "Never, ever suggest such a thing again! In order to do that, I'd have to alter your mind. Such a thing is totally unacceptable and morally repugnant. Besides, your reactions are simply normal for your age and development meaning that there is nothing to be ashamed of. My only real complaint with them is the potential for causing you or someone you may care about harm because you were distracted."

Ranma nodded his head accepting his lady's reasoning. "Understood Eris, but what are we going to do? You've got to have some ideas on how to handle this problem." The planetary spirit might act a little crazy at times, but Ranma knew that she was extremely smart and knowledgeable on ways to get stronger. Not that this was surprising since her powers were driven by the underlying principles of unpredictability and survival of the fittest.

Eris put her left hand to the side of her cheek and tapped her cheek for a few seconds to think about Ranma's situation. "Well Ranma, your problem is that you are nervous when exposed to the female body. We therefore need to make it so that you are comfortable with the female physique. I can think of three options available to you. The first is that use instant Jusenkyo packets to temporarily gain a girl curse. This would remove your nervousness by making you live as a girl for a few days and thus grow comfortable with girls. Next, you and I could do a rundown of the Karma Sutra. This would give you a great deal of knowledge about the female form and let you have a positive reaction to it. Finally, I could create sensuous golems for you to fight. This would force you to remove your nervousness as the golems would be trying to kill you."

A small frown appeared on Ranma's face as he listened to his options. "Aren't there any other options? I sure as hell don't want a curse like Pops; especially if it means being a girl. Don't take it the wrong way, but I don't think its right to just sleep with you because I have this problem Eris. As for the golems, wouldn't that be just what I am doing right now?"

Eris rolled her eyes at Ranma's hesitancy and then just shook her head. She had really been hoping that Ranma would have selected option 2, but either of the other options would have been okay. The planetary leaned in closer so that she could whisper into her champion's ear, "Understood. But, please think about what I told you. This problem isn't going to simply go away and I'll be happy to help you with whatever option you decide to go with."

* * *

For most people, going home from work is a simple and normal routine. You simply leave the office, get in a car or prepare to walk, and then head home. This was not so for Ranma. Going home for him involved teleporting under a bridge, running towards his house on roofs and fences, and seeing his father get chased around town by blade wielding babes.

Eris's young champion immediately paused as his mind fully registered what his eyes were seeing. There in the street was his father in panda form being chased by 7 women. Each of the women had outlandish colored hair, wore rather provocative cloths, and seemed to be screaming bloody murder towards Genma. There was a wake of passed out men and irate women as the bizarre chase scene made its way down the street.

Ranma, who had been standing on a fence post, sat on his haunches and thought about what he should do. Should he jump down there and help out his old man or should he let those women chase the fool? On the one hand, those women looked like they were out to kill Pops. But on the other hand, the old man had probably done something to piss the women off. All the kami knew that the old man had done that to Ranma more times than he could count.

In the end Ranma simply shrugged his shoulders and decided to head somewhere else for the time being. "No skin off my nose if Pops caused someone a hard time. Now what can I do to kill some time?" Training in the wilderness of Eris had taught Ranma one very important lesson: never go looking for trouble!

The young champion decided to do something new and exciting while he waited for Genma's situation to blow over: being an average teenager. Ranma hit the arcade, he watched a movie, grabbed some fast food at the food court, and finally he bought a Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition magazine. The last item on his list of things to do was purely for work, seriously.

Ranma arrived home well after the sun had set fairly confident that his father's mess had blown over by now. If it wasn't, well, he could always grab his mother and run for Kyoto. Ranma opened the front door and was instantly grabbed into a crushing hug by his mother. "Oh son, it's so great that you're finally home from work. I have such wonderful news! Your oh so manly father has procured a mistress for himself! Come, you simply must see the beauty that will be sharing your father's and my bed."

Nodoka dragged Ranma into the house and didn't let go as she rushed to show her son just how 'manly' his father was. During all of this Ranma was wondering what was going on with his mother. Seriously, most women would go on the warpath or break down into tears if they found out their husband had another woman. His mother acted like she had just won the lottery.

Mother and child entered the family room where Genma and the seven women from earlier were waiting for the duo. Nodoka quickly brought Ranma over to where a purple haired young woman about his age was sitting. Ranma quickly noticed that the young woman looked like she was on death row and that two of her companions were holding her in her seat. Nodoka didn't seem to notice this as she ecstatically introduced the girl. "Son, I want you to meet your father's new mistress Shampoo. Oh I can't wait for your future half-brothers and half-sisters to be running through the house."

Ranma managed to break out of his mother's grip, quickly backed away into the center of the room, and motioned for a time-out. "Alright everyone, what's going on? A few hours ago I saw everyone else in this room minus Mom chasing Pops through the streets ready to kill him and now one of these women is his mistress? Furthermore, she's like 16 years old. Am I the only one who finds it odd for my old man to be taking a lover young enough to be his daughter?" He didn't mention that he found it bizarre and slightly sickening that his father was going to be having a lover period. Who knew what his mother would say if he said that out loud?

One of the women in the room snorted at Ranma's outburst. "Learn the facts first boy before you open your mouth. We are Chinese Amazons. Some time ago your father came to our village in his cursed form and consumed a great deal of our food stores. The seven of us are the hunting party that was sent out to catch and kill what we thought was a dumb beast. Your father's cursed form was to be the main course a banquet to redeem the shame that loosing the food he ate had caused our warriors."

Ranma nodded his head following along so far. "Okay, I get what you're saying so far. But, how does hunting a moron lead to my mother getting excited over a mistress for my father?"

The Amazon keeping Shampoo in place on the purple-haired girl's right answered Ranma's question. "Little cousin here was defeated in combat by your father. Under Amazonian law, he is now her husband. Furthermore, Amazonian law now makes you Shampoo's son in the eyes of the village and your mother, since she has not protested the union, is now Shampoo's sister. Sadly your barbaric Japanese laws don't recognize this and so your birth mother has stated that your claim mother is to be known in these lands as your father's mistress."

Another Amazon chose to add her two cents at this time, "Enough with the explanations Conditioner! We've waited long enough for Shampoo's new son to arrive so that we can finish with the wedding. Who's going to be the witness to the consummation?"

Nodoka quickly jumped in. "I'll take care of that. Conditioner, would you mind telling my son what he needs to know about the Amazons while I make sure that his father is manly with his mistress?"

Conditioner nodded her head and motioned for another Amazon to take her place. She then watched as Nodoka cheerfully lead Genma and Shampoo to the master bedroom. The Amazon thanked the goddesses that it was Genma and not Ranma who was her cousin's husband. Both Saotome men were obviously very strong fighters and Genma didn't run the risk of contaminating the Amazonian gene pool with whatever madness Nodoka had.

* * *

Camping out in the basement was not Ranma's idea of a good night's rest. The young champion wondered for a moment why he was using his old camping futon in the basement instead of in his comfortable bed. That wonder abruptly ended when he recalled what had happened last night. This was the furthest place he could get to from his parents' room without leaving the house.

"Why didn't you come over last night Ranma?" The young man in question quickly looked around the basement and saw Eris in a cowgirl outfit sitting on a stack of boxes. "Your chambers in Dysnomia Castle, or even the wild plains of my true body, would be far better conditions to spend the night then this place. Besides," at this point Eris paused to scrunch up her nose, "It would put you several hundred AUs away from the horror story upstairs. If I knew that your father was in store for Shampoo I would have struck her dead when she left the competition as an act of kindness."

Ranma got out of bed and started folding his futon. "Thought about it Eris, but I figured there would be too many questions about where I went if I didn't stay here. So, what brings you here at this hour?" Immediately after Ranma asked this he turned around to see his lady sipping a pina colata.

The planetary spirit smirked and then put her drink down. "Calm down stallion, I just wanted to give you a little heads up about that youma attack you snuffed out two days ago. It turns out that when your 'peers' took care of the Dark Kingdom they forgot to clean up the mess. A great deal of the youmas that made up the Dark Kingdom's army were left alive and they're trying to escape to Earth for survival. Turns out that without their 'Dark Queen' these lowlifes have to either eat each other or flee to Earth to survive. Most of the monsters have destroyed themselves, but now the remainder is coming here."

Ranma folded his arms across his chest and considered the situation. "What are the other spirits' champions going to do about this situation? I know that I'll do my best to keep people safe; it's my duty as a martial artist and a fighter. But, the other champions need to be part of this as they are already involved."

A scowl crossed Eris's face when she heard what Ranma said. She then replied, "They're not going to do anything. Luna's champion messed things up by wishing everything would go back to normal with a powerful magical crystal. A newbie mage should never be given control over such a powerful artifact like she was. The creampuff brained ninny didn't know how to properly handle the crystal's power and only set things up so that the former Dark Kingdom's minions won't appear around her, her friends, or anyone she has ever met. The other champions won't be able to hear about the attacks since monster attacks are not normal. This spell only affects monsters from the former Dark Kingdom, but that's bad enough."

The young champion's eyes narrowed as he heard the news. "So in other words, I'm on my own?"

Eris cheerfully chirped, "Got it in one Ranma. Of course, knowing fate, you probably won't be on your own too long. Heroes just can't seem to resist forming Nakamas. However, you're going to need a way to hunt down these youmas. It will be good practice for you and I really don't want you distracted from protecting me because your neighborhood has been trash. So," Eris paused for a second to pull out a cell phone, "I got you this! This little device will give you directions to the nearest monster whenever you dial 1-800-KICKDEMONASS. It also pages you whenever there is a monster attack in progress and can be used a regular phone."

Without warning, though Ranma had come to expect such things, Eris tossed the phone at her champion. He quickly pocketed it in a hammerspace pocket. "Hey Eris, you got any other things you want to throw at me?"

Ranma really needed to learn to keep his mouth shut as Eris got that gleam in her eyes. The planetary spirit shifted to being right in front of Ranma and gave his a firm kiss on the lips. She then returned to her original position. "How's that for throwing something your way? Bye for now Ranma." With that, Eris faded from sight.

* * *

Two days after Eris gave Ranma the cell phone he got a call telling him that a pack of youma were going to emerge at an abandoned warehouse at 11:34 PM. How Eris knew exactly when and where the youma would appear Ranma couldn't figure out. He simply accepted it as within her power.

Currently, Senshi Eris was standing on the roof near where the youma were supposed to appear using his phantom form to stay out of sight. Phantom form allowed Senshi Eris to become completely invisible on all spectrums, but it prevented him from attacking as a trade-off. The blue-faced champion pulled out his cell phone and looked at the clock. To any outside observer it would have seemed like the phone was floating in mid-air. The time on the clock read 11:33. Senshi Eris quickly put the phone away and got ready to fight.

Just as the call had said, a black vortex appeared exactly on time. Anyone looking into the vortex would have soon seen a pack of enraged youma rushing for the entrance. The champion of Eris wished he could simply attack the vortex itself or attack into it. Unfortunately, the properties of the vortex protected it from his attacks and thus he'd have to wait until the youma had crossed over to attack them.

As soon as the first youma cross over, Senshi Eris dropped his phantom form and launched a Chaos Slash. The attack quickly flew at its target striking true while Senshi Eris leaped down to the ground. Senshi Eris immediately noticed that three youmas had crossed over while he had jumped and were quickly trying to leave the area. The red-haired warrior wasted no time and launched another volley of Chaos Slashes at the two farthest monsters.

Unfortunately, the third youma took this time to launch its own attack at Eris's champion. This youma was able to rapidly fire off its attack enabling it to keep Senshi Eris on the defensive while more and more youmas stampeded out of the vortex. These other youmas quickly added their own attacks forcing Senshi Eris further on the defensive.

The Champion of Chaos and Evolution was really starting to get annoyed as he wasn't able to get a second to return fire. His enemies were attacking too strongly for him to aim an attack, they were too spread out for a randomly thrown attack to work, and they had promptly destroyed all the cover in the area. Senshi Eris started muttering just after getting his hair clipped by an attack of buzz saw leaves, "Okay Murphy. I get that your pissed off I dodged the Amazons. Now that you've made you point, could you give me a break?!"

Without warning a voice cried out, "NIGHTWIND!" Both Senshi Eris and the youma were surprised when violent black cloud of dust appeared out of no where quickly reducing visibility to zero. The last thing Senshi Eris saw before he wasn't able to see anymore was three of the youma's attacks apparently get worn down to nothing. Senshi Eris quickly took this unexpected opportunity to leap back up onto the roof. Landing was a little difficult for the champion as his eyesight didn't return when he left the dust cloud. This caused him to mess up his landing and fall belly first onto the metal roof.

A sensuous voice quickly spoke, "Careful, my attack blinds all who are caught in it. Let me correct that." Without warning, Senshi Eris felt something cover his eyes and heard that voice state, "Hand of Hecate." There was a warm strange feeling for a second and then the voice called out again, "Open your eyes."

Senshi Eris did as he was instructed and was shocked at what he saw. Standing before him was the most alluring woman he had ever seen. The woman before him was dressed very provocatively in what looked like a risqué harem girl outfit. The outfit was off-white/faded lavender and hid nothing about her body. She had a silver belt around her waist and silver bracelets on her wrists. The only thing about this enchantress that was hidden was her face. The lower half of her face was covered by a dark piece of cloth that was attached to a combined hood and cloak.

Senshi Eris gulped for a second and then asked, "Who are you?"

The figure smiled back with her eyes and replied, "I am Lilith."


	4. Chapter 4

The female fatale practically purred out "I am Lilith." Senshi Eris gulped as a shiver ran down his spine. Something about how she spoke seemed to both excite and terrify the planetary champion.

Lilith walked passed Senshi Eris until she reached the edge of the roof and then she looked down. After a quick glance, Lilith turned around and called out, "How good are you at wide area attacks?"

Senshi Eris quickly thought about Lilith's question and then answered back, "I can fire off my long range attacks in quick succession now that I no longer have to dodge enemy fire." Privately, the planetary champion was kicking himself for not thinking of creating an attack for just this situation. If he made it out alive, that would be the first thing that would be covered in training.

The mysterious sorceress's eyes narrowed slightly and then she shook her head. "It was too much to hope that one as young as you would have what I was hoping for. Still, we can manage with what you have."

A low growl escaped Senshi Eris's mouth. "And just what was that about me?" Eris's champion had sweat and bleed for his abilities and he wasn't about to just let some woman dismiss them like that.

Suddenly, Lilith's aura flared up so that she was practically radiating sex appeal. "For the moment, my dear boy, I can't call upon my stronger attacks. My spell on the youma will not last long and when it ends they will be able to escape. Thus, I need you to kill them now before my spell ends. If necessary, I can make it worth your while." Lilith brought an arm to her chest had pushed up to emphasis her talent as she spoke

"I don't need any promises to fulfill my duty!" Senshi Eris shouted this and then jumped into the air. Bluish-black energy started crackling from Senshi Eris's fists and he called out, "Chaos Slash Revised: Chaotic Claw Windmill!" The planetary champion started spinning in the air and released a Chaos Slash each time his hand passed a certain point. Each blade from Senshi Eris's attack struck true and slew a youma. He took a grim satisfaction that the first youma to die from his hastily created technique was the same youma that had put him on the defensive.

There were still two youma remaining when Senshi Eris landed on the roof breathing heavily. Mentally, the young champion was berating himself for using so much energy on an untested technique. This was why one should never go into battle with a technique without first in how to use it. You simply waste too much power on it because you haven't mastered it.

Still, the Chaotic Claw Windmill did do its purpose in reducing the youma from twenty to a more manageable number. Senshi Eris knew that he could handle two youma by himself in his current condition. However, he really didn't want to if he didn't have to do so. "Hey Lilith," Senshi Eris called out, "do you think you could lend a hand?"

"Asking a lady to join in a fight? Well aren't you just a paragon of chivalry. Still, I suppose that I could lend you a hand. My powers are strong enough to deal with one enemy so I'll take the youma by those crates."

Senshi Eris nodded his head. "Good, I'll take the one by the east wall." With that said Senshi Eris jumped down to the ground and formed a Chaos Claw in his right hand. He quickly rushed to his target while weaving out of its attacks. As soon as the distance was closed, the planetary champion grabbed the youma's arm with his left hand and then hacked it off with the Chaos Claw. He next used the Youma's cry of pain to disembowel it causing its disintegration.

Meanwhile, Lilith was up on the roof moving like she was dancing to some exotic tune. As she danced her left arm extended outwards with the palm facing the youma. She immediately called out, "Bendis Blast!" A silver orb the size of a basket ball shot out from her palm and rocketed towards the youma. The orb hit and exploded like a concussion blast. Senshi Eris noticed that most of the energy didn't hit the youma. This was why the youma staggered around for almost a minute in pain before it died from the injuries.

The planetary champion looked around at the battlefield making sure that no enemies were left alive. Once this was done, he allowed himself to relax a bit and lean against a warehouse wall. Senshi Eris then watched as Lilith walked over to the fire escape and climbed down to join him on the ground. Now that the battle was over he could deal with his unexpected help. "So Lilith," Senshi Eris began as she drew nearer to him. "I think that you and I should have a little talk."

However, talking was obviously not on Lilith's mind as she caught Senshi Eris off guard by leaping at him to deliver a kiss. This wasn't a friendly kiss on the cheek. This was a hungry and passionate kiss where the only thing stopping the duo's tongues from meeting was Lilith's face cloth. Furthermore, Lilith wrapped her arms around her stunned companion and pulled him closer so that their bodies molded together. Senshi Eris tried to figure out what was happening to him, but his mind seemed to be shutting down as Lilith's presence quickly overloaded his senses.

Things would have continued, but a terrible jolt of pain forced Lilith to practically jump away from Senshi Eris screaming in agony. Senshi Eris started to be able to think clearly again now that Lilith wasn't turbo charging his hormones. The planetary champion came out of his daze just in time to Eris appear looking as enraged as hell. "Alright you sorceress bitch, what in the hell is going through that slutty head of yours?"

Lilith quickly bent her knee to the planetary spirit and hurriedly spoke, "A thousand apologies, Oh Eris-Sama. I did not mean to offend or insult you in any way. I've exhausted most of my magic in aiding your champion and I was merely trying to restore some of my power reserves by drawing off the excess power radiating from your champion."

To Senshi Eris's shock, his lady backhanded Lilith and sent her sprawling backwards onto the cement. "That," Eris growled out with razor sharp edge to her voice, "was for taking what is mine without permission. If you ever do that again I'll kill you." She nodded her head in satisfaction seeing that Lilith was on the verge of unconsciousness. Then her whole demeanor softened and she called out, "Hey champion, get your cute butt over here now."

Senshi Eris blinked his eyes in confusion and then walked over to Eris. "What is it Eris?" He asked not knowing what his unpredictable lady might do next.

The planetary spirit smiled at her champion's slightly nervous request for orders. "As a personal favor for me, I want you to lie down on this girl and kiss her." After seeing the shocked, nervous, and slightly enraged look on her champion's face, Eris decided to explain her request. "You owe this young woman for saving you from that bad situation with the youmas. She is currently low on power and injured as a direct result of her interactions with you. The debt you owe her can be repaid by helping her regain her power and recover from her injuries. Given what she is, both can be achieved by letting her absorb your radiant energy and the best way for you to do that is by insuring as much physical contact between you two as possible."

Senshi Eris gulped and wondered how he got into this situation. For a second, he thought about asking Eris why she was having him do this after she just KO'ed Lilith for basically doing the same thing. That idea quickly died a fiery death as the look on the spirit's face told her champion that he'd better get with the lip locking. The young champion carefully got down on the ground and gently positioned himself on top of the unconscious sorceress. He then softly placed a kiss on the cloth covering Lilith's face where her mouth should be.

Eris watched as her champion kissed the sorceress and nodded her head in satisfaction. The planetary spirit quietly altered the nature of the power Senshi Eris was drawing from her. This altered power was stronger so that Lilith would recover faster and was designed to speed up the natural growth of Lilith's power. Eris was pissed that Lilith had taken her power without asking, but respected why the sorceress did what she did.

Lilith opened her eyes a few seconds after the kiss began. As soon as Senshi Eris realized that Lilith was awake, he bolted and nervously stood off to the side. Eris shook her head and offered Lilith her hand to help the sorceress up. "Looks like I'll have to train my idiot champion a bit more. He's too good to pull a sleaze ball move like kissing and running." Once Eris had gotten Lilith up, the spirit whispered into the sorceress's ear. "If you continue to help my champion out I will allow you to draw a portion of my power to replenish your own. However, you will ask each time or I will follow through with my threat."

The sorceress nodded her head. "I understand Eris-Sama. Thank you for forgiving me my transgression." Once Lilith said this she pulled her cloak over herself and disappeared in a cloud of sand.

* * *

Ranma woke up with sun and took out his earplugs before getting out of bed. He then proceeded to head downstairs and noticed Shampoo in the kitchen making breakfast. Noting that his father's mistress was in a bad mood; Ranma quietly tip-toed to the fridge and pulled out a cola. As the young champion got his dose of caffeine he deliberately ignored Shampoo's grips about his father's inadequacies and his mother's over exuberance.

Shampoo got so aggravated that she accidentally bumped the wall causing a box of salt to fall into her meal. "Damn that worthless husband, I should have been a better fighter and killed him!"

The younger Saotome male positioned himself so that he'd have adequate cover if necessary before speaking. "Okay, I'll freely admit that a pile of manure is probably worth more than my Old Man. But don't you think that death threats are a little over the top?" Seeing the glare that Shampoo was giving him, Ranma decided to hurriedly get to his point. "I read that law book your friends left the other day and from what I could tell you only have to stay with Pops until you have a daughter. After that, you could leave and never come back if you wanted. So uh, what I'm trying to say is that theirs a way out for you." Ranma had been reading the law book at Eris's prompting in order to avoid getting into trouble with the Amazons.

Shampoo pouted slightly and then started to cry. "But eldest daughter supposed to be one that I can be proud of. How can I be proud if Genma her father? He is perfect example of what a worthless male is!"

Luckily for Ranma, he didn't have to deal with the bizarre situation of trying to cheer up his father's mistress because the doorbell rang. Ranma took off like a bat out of hell for the front door and opened it. "Good morning and welcome to the Saotome household." After his bow and greeting were over, Ranma noticed that the person at the door was a middle-aged man in a suit carrying a briefcase.

The man bowed his head and replied, "Greetings. I am Tanaka Ishida from the Greater Tokyo School Board. So sorry for coming over this early in the morning, but certain issues need to be resolved concerning the school applications of Ranma Saotome and Shampoo Proctor."

"I'm Ranma Saotome and Shampoo is inside making breakfast. What's the problem with our school applications that you need to personally come and see us?"

Mr. Ishida bowed his head and then calmly stated, "A couple of issues have turned up that need to be straitened up. I've been sent so that we can get everything sorted out now so that both you and Miss Proctor can receive your education."

Ranma motioned with his head for Mr. Ishida to come inside. "The living room is on the right. Just take off your shoes and I'll go get Shampoo so we can sort this out." A few seconds later Ranma stuck his head into the kitchen and hollered, "We've got someone from the school board that wants to see us Shampoo. He says it's about our high school applications."

Shampoo quickly came around the corner and followed her adopted son into the living room where Mr. Ishida was waiting. The duo then sat down and waited for the school board representative to explain what the trouble was. "Let us start with Miss. Proctor's issues first. Your application shows that you are to be going to Furinkan High this fall. However, you've filled out the wrong form. The paperwork you've submitted is that of an international student when your status indicates that you should have filled out a legal alien resident form. This is only a minor mistake made by your aunt and can easily be corrected by having you fill out the correct form. I have one such form with me if you wish to fill it out right now."

The Amazonian woman nodded her head and gratefully accepted the form from Mr. Ishida and a pen. Shampoo had to stop and double check some of her kanji, but this ended when Mr. Ishida stated that Hiragana was fine for filling out the form. Once Shampoo was done she handed the form to Mr. Ishida and grumped out, "Stupid bureaucracies".

Mr. Ishida nodded his head and replied, "I will admit that the system can be a pain at time. But, it is better to have everything in order and in its place than to not have a proper system." He then paused to put Shampoo's form away in his briefcase. "Now then, let's move on to Mr. Saotome's issues. According to the school board's records, you've applied to Infinity Academy. Is that correct sir?"

Ranma nodded his head. He did not particularly like school even though he knew it was necessary. However, that didn't mean that he was willing to just coast through his school years. Infinity was the best in the greater Tokyo area and Ranma was determined to be the best; even if it was at something he hated. The young martial artist folded his arms across his chest and then spoke. "That's correct, so why do you need to come here? If my application was accepted or rejected I would be informed by a letter. So the question is why you are here for me?"

Mr. Ishida simply smiled at Ranma. "That's part of why I am here Mr. Saotome. I would like to state up front that you have been approved to go to Infinity. That I must state is quite an accomplishment given your somewhat spotty academic record. Now the reason why I'm here is because our system shows that you've been accepted at another school as well: Furinkan High."

"WHAT! How the hell could I be accepted at Furinkan High when I never even applied to go there? That school wasn't even on my list of alternatives." Said list of alternative schools had been created by Ranma and Eris for both his scholastic potential and the chance for Senshi Eris to do some good.

The school board representative sighed and stated. "It appears that your father, Genma Saotome, applied for you to go to Furinkan as your parental guardian. He also cancelled your application to Infinity stating that you were going to Furinkan. The major problem for us is that your work immediately cancelled your application for Furinkan stating that you were going to Infinity. Our computer systems show you both going and not going to the two schools at the same time. We need to sort out just where you will be attending when school starts up next week."

* * *

A week later Ranma was walking next to Shampoo as they headed to school with a sour expression on his face. "Hey Shampoo."

"Yes Ranma."

"Is that offer to off my Old Man still open? I know someone that is willing to help us dispose of Pop's fat carcass." Both Ranma and Eris were annoyed that Genma had won in selecting Ranma's high school. The cursed panda had simply caused so much trouble for the school board that Infinity had decided that Ranma wasn't worth the hassle. Ranma wanted to know just what his father was thinking that going to Furinkan was for Ranma's own good. Just how was going to an average school better than going to the best school in the region? Furthermore, what did a high school dropout know about real education?

Never the less, Ranma was going to Furinkan whether he liked it or not. About the only decent thing about going to that particular high school was that it was in the weird section of Nermia. With a little luck, he'd be able to take care of any youmas and avoid the 'normal' insanity.

Shampoo sighed and looked at her 'son'. "Do you think we'll learn anything useful at school Ranma? I don't see the point."

Ranma shrugged before he answered his 'mother'. "The school board sets a standard set of requirements; so we shouldn't be too bad academically. At the very least it will teach us how to interact in a modern urban society." Using a more refined way of speaking was annoying to Ranma, but it wasn't as annoying to him as it was to his father.

The Amazonian warrior nodded her head and then noticed the school gates coming up. Both Ranma and Shampoo entered the courtyard and headed off to the freshman initiation ceremony. Ready or not, their school year had begun.

Once the initiation ceremony was completed, Ranma and Shampoo headed off to their classrooms. Luckily, both had the same homeroom so it was easy for them to find. At this point, the two martial artists split up to find separate seats as the classroom filled up. Ranma took a seat near the middle of the classroom in the 'I want to learn but I'm not a nerd' zone. Shampoo on the other hand decided to pick a seat in the back row. She had noticed the looks a lot of her classmates were sending her while walking through the hall and wanted to avoid that during class.

All of the students' attention turned to the front of the room as the door opened. A woman with long green hair and a supermodel's body dressed in a professional office worker's suit walked into the classroom. The woman put her briefcase on the teacher's desk, adjusted her glasses, and then turned to face the students. "Good morning class, I am Setsuna Meio and I will be your homeroom teacher as well as your history teacher this year."

Setsuna proceeded to explain what she expected of her students for the upcoming year. However, she was only half concentrating on what she was saying. Her mind was focused on trying to locate the new freelance planetary champion. Setsuna had sensed that a new champion had been chosen, but she couldn't figure out who the champion was.

Even with the timegates, Setsuna had only been able to narrow down the new champion's location to Nerima. Something about the champion's power made her impossible to track. The Time Guardian figured that becoming a teacher at Furinkan would get her into a perfect location to find her potential comrade. Hopefully, Setsuna would be able to find and convince the newest Sailor Senshi to join with the other Senshi or at least take a neutral stance with them.

The one thing that Setsuna didn't want to happen was for this new Sailor Senshi to fight with the other Senshi. Such a thing would be an absolute disaster as it would undermine the public's trust, create undue stress on the princess, and could potentially weaken Earth's defenses against enemies. Sailor Senshi had battled Sailor Senshi constantly in the era before the Silver Millennium when the worlds were all independent nations. The level of barbarity that existed back then was something that made Setsuna proud her ancestors had decided to join the Lunar faction and bring about the Silver Millennium. Hopefully Sailor Senshi would never have to face another Senshi in battle again.

* * *

Eris's astral form phased into existence in Dysnomia Castle wearing Daisy Duke jeans, a tied flannel t-shirt, and a cowboy hat. She then calmly walked to the training room and watched as her champion went through his workout. Today Ranma was training in his normal form wearing a pair of black tangs and a dark blue muscle shirt. The planetary spirit watched with satisfaction as Ranma moved through a series of self-created katas he had dubbed the Shiva dances. Each 'dance' was built around a combat technique in the Yamisenken.

Once Ranma finished his current dance, he stopped and turned to face his lady. "Did you enjoy watching Eris?"

She politely nodded her head in response. "You did very well as always Ranma. Once again, I applaud you for your drive at self-improvements. Some of the other planetary spirits are already muttering about possibly putting their champions through some training." The grin on her face showed just how pleased Eris was about all of this.

Ranma nodded his head accepting Eris's praise. His lady was not an easy person to please, but it made Ranma happy that she appreciated his work. "So Eris, is there something that you wanted to talk to me about?"

Eris nodded her head and then moved to stand in front of Ranma. "Fight me Ranma." Seeing the surprised look on his face, the planetary spirit decided to charge at him and let loose a bone-crushing kick.

The young champion quickly blocked the kick with his right arm and didn't wince at the force of the blow. All questions fled from Ranma's mind as he entered into an almost zen like state where all that mattered to him was fighting. Back and forth he traded punches and kicks with Eris. Neither one dominated the other causing the ferocious dance between the two continued for what seemed like hours.

Finally, the battle ended when Eris let Ranma sweep her legs and pin her to the floor. Eris smiled at Ranma. "Very good job my champion. Now, how much of that battle did you notice?"

This remark caused Ranma to blink his eyes in confusion. He then looked down at Eris again and his eyes bulged upon discovering that her top had come off. Ranma quickly tried to jump back in embarrassment. However, Eris would have none of that and she quickly pinned him on the ground.

Eris brought her mouth close to Ranma ear and then in a mockery of a lovers' whisper growled out, "On handling the feminine form while fighting you pass. However, you're situational awareness and your ability to deal with a little skin when not in the heat of battle stinks! If you keep on failing, I'll have no choice but to turn you into a buxom redhead."

Ranma nervously gulped in fear of losing his manhood. There was no doubt in his mind that Eris would follow through with her threat. He then watched as Eris stood up and pulled him to his feet. Eris then folded her arms together and shook her head. "I deliberately let my top fall off 15 minutes into the fight to see if I could get a reaction out of you. Luckily, you were able to handle that distraction and keep on fighting. However, you handled it by completely ignoring what happened and that's terrible. What If I had been a youma and my shirt had been a detachable part of myself that could come around and attack you?"

This caused Ranma to bow his head in embarrassment. He had been having too much fun fighting Eris that his mind had been in 'spar' mood and not 'battle' mode. "Is there anything else that you wanted to pound into my head Eris?"

"Not at the moment Ranma. However, I want to inform you of something. One of the other spirits tipped me off that their champion is looking for you. Of course, the other champion doesn't know who you are and only knows that you're in Nerima. I want you to figure out who this champion is before they find out about you. If you succeed I'll give you a big reward and if you fail I'll rip you a new one."

In all honesty, Ranma found the cheerfulness in Eris's voice to be rather disturbing. He swore then and there that he'd do whatever it took to find this champion looking for him. The young champion was a little leery about what his lady might cook up as a reward. But, it had to beat her threat if he failed.

* * *

Most people in Nerima avoided the city's sewers. Members of the city's Department of Sanitation rarely ventured into the city's underground tunnels. Not that anyone could blame them given that Nermia's sewers were home to ninja rats, poison snakes, alligators, and even a couple goblins. The Kuno family's Mr. Green Turtle was actually a runt that had fled from the city's unmentionable ecosystem to the relative safety of Kodatchi Kuno.

Lilith found that this made the sewers the perfect place to train and practice her returning power. Currently, the sorceress was in a cleaned up goblin den whose pervious owners she had aggressively negotiated with for the property. The den had a Persian carpet in the center of the room, a couple targets set up along a wall, and most of the den's walls were covered in writing. The writings on the wall would have driven historians mad as the script kept changing to different extinct languages that came from different peoples with no connection to each other. Yet, the writings themselves told one story that was continued throughout all the different languages.

At the moment, Lilith was meditating on the carpet trying to find peace within her. This was not an easy task for the sorceress as her present and past lives were not able to get along. Inside Lilith's mind, her present persona was looking at the shades of her past lives with all of them connected by a golden thread piercing the heart.

Present Lilith pleaded with her past selves, "Surely you can't be serious? Don't you realize what you're asking of me?"

Miko Past Lilith snorted and shot back, "Of course we do! After all, we are you!"

Another Lilith, this one dressed like an Egyptian priestess, snorted at Miko Lilith. "Like your one to talk. I remember you being quite hesitant about this as well when we awakened."

Yet another past shade who was dressed in a Viking era dress sighed. "Can't you two ever get along? It's sometimes an embarrassment to know that we were and became you."

Both Miko Lilith and Egyptian Lilith proceeded to punch Norse Lilith in the face. Norse Lilith retaliated by grabbing the other two Liliths' hairs and bashing the two together. The misty twilight mindscape quickly became the center of a giant cat fight as more and more past lives were roped into the brawl. Present Lilith put her head in her hands and started crying. Why was it that her other selves so difficult to work with?

"ENOUGH!" an old and shrill voice called out instantly halting the fight. A cloaked figure emerged from the dark mist and slowly walked with her cane into the center of the gathering. All of the past lives gulped and wondered why they had to bring HER into the discussion.

Present Lilith watched as the cloaked figure slowly walked over to her and laid a withered and chard hand on her shoulder. "So young," the crone haggardly whispered, "My child, you have awakened years before we intended. For that, I am truly sorry." The old cloaked woman slowly turned around radiating a presence that was far more powerful and intimidating that her physical self. "Shame on all of you, I didn't start this chain so that I could attack myself!" For emphasis, the hag pointed to her chest where the golden thread started.

The crone turned back to face Present Lilith and chuckled, "Just ignore yourself. I'll give you some advice and you're free to disregard it: Develop your powers how you want and take what you want from us as you please. You want your power to grow quickly? We know plenty of methods to do so from the holy, to the natural, and to the diabolical. Fight how you want. You want to use 'sacred' powers you go right on ahead. If you want to summon demons to fight for you then that's your right. After all, this is your life now. We are simply here to guide you and give you our lives' experience so that you don't have to make the same mistakes that we did."

Present Lilith nodded her head accepting the crone's words. She then watched as the crone walked back into the mist causing the other hers to follow. The other past lives silently walked past the present life and most seemed to recongise her presence anymore. However, Summerian Lilith winked her eye at Present Lilith as she walked by. Now alone in her mind, Lilith wondered what she was going to do about the youma and herself.


	5. Chapter 5

Humans, Ranma knew for a fact, could be complete bastards and worse monsters then youmas. At least the youmas he fought against were only trying to gain access to food supplies; even if said food was humans. Ranma was sitting in a tree and had been trying to have lunch during his school break. Unfortunately, his meal was spoiled by the drama going on off to the side between one of his classmates and an upperclassman. The young champion barely knew the classmate in particular; all he really knew was that the kid had a mild case of asthma.

Ranma had watched with partial attention as the student in question had his inhaler accidentally drop out of his pocket and into a bush. He had then noticed a sophomore girl pick up the inhaler and walk over to his classmate. This didn't seem like a problem as Ranma figured that the girl was merely helping out a fellow student. That idea quickly went down in flames as the girl conned the guy into forking over 500 yen for a new 'emergency' inhaler to hold him over. Ranma couldn't decide what was more pathetic: the fact that the girl would hold something like that over a kid's head for a quick buck or the fact that the guy couldn't recognize his own inhaler.

The champion begrudgingly returned to his bento and muttered, "What a bitch. Maybe I'll let the youma have her if I find them attacking her." Ranma then dug into his lunch and tried to put what had happened out of his mind. He was soon able to put the incident away as yet another annoying situation he had seen/been in and enjoyed his lunch.

After finishing his lunch, Ranma put his bento box away in his backpack and casually jumped down to the ground. Several of the students started whispering to each other after watching Ranma make the jump and just casually continue walking. The nervous chatter from the various students was so loud that Ranma couldn't help overhearing some of the conversations.

"Did you see that?"

"How the hell did he do that?"

"That limb was at least ten meters off the ground. Saotome should be dead from that jump."

"We've got to get him on the pole vaulting team. Furinkan would be unbeatable with him as the star!"

Ranma rolled his eyes at the last group's comment. He already was one of if not the strongest fighter in his age group, his father had trained him to be a martial arts master who could take over a dojo, and he had an adrenalin packed job being Eris's champion defending the city. Joining a sports team or martial arts club was not in any of Ranma's plans. Ranma was determined that school would be a place where he could simply be a regular teenager.

Without anything better to do, Ranma left the outdoor section of the cafeteria and headed back to his homeroom. He opened the classroom door and was surprised to see Setsuna having lunch at her desk. The Guardian of the Time Gates looked up at Ranma and her eyebrow rose slightly. "You're back here rather early Mr. Saotome. Lunch period doesn't end for another fifteen minutes."

Setsuna watched as Ranma nodded his head and then shrugged his shoulders. "Already finished lunch and didn't feel like hanging out with everyone else today. I figured that I might as well start on some of my homework so that I could have more time to myself after class. That's not a problem is it?"

The emerald haired guardian turned teacher shook her head. "You may go to your desk and study if you wish." Ranma promptly went to his desk to start working and Setsuna resumed having the last bit of her lunch. Setsuna watched her unexpected company out of the corner of her eye as wrestled with a math problem.

Personally, Setsuna had found Ranma to one of her more interesting students that she had encountered while hunting for the mysterious new sailor senshi. It was quite obvious that most academic pursuits bored or simply weren't interesting to Ranma. Yet, the young man pursued everything he was taught with rapt attention and tons of hard work. Setsuna decided to keep her eye on the young Saotome boy as a little side project while she searched for the new sailor senshi. Who knew, he might just made a good candidate to be one of the other senshi's companion.

* * *

"By the goddess, it felt like school was never going to end." Shampoo muttered to herself as she and Ranma were walking back home. The Amazonian warrior couldn't figure out how the school could make things so boring. Back in the village the lore masters always made sure to hold everyone's attention.

Ranma shrugged his shoulders and replied, "I have to agree to you there. At least Ms. Meio makes history interesting. With how vivid she describes it you'd almost think that she lived through it." Both teens broke out into a small laugh at that remark. Once they stopped laughing Ranma continued. "So, what are we supposed to do about that 'family history project' due next month? I mean do we include your status with Pops or not?"

Shampoo paused to consider her 'son's' words. On the one hand, mentioning that she already had a husband would stop the annoying requests for dates. On the other hand, the Japanese didn't seem to do too well when faced with something out of the ordinary from what she could tell. The simple fact that she was from a village of warrior women seemed to be enough to cause trouble with a lot of people she met. Finally, Shampoo shrugged her shoulders and replied, "Let's think on it Okay?"

The cell phone Eris gave Ranma rang just before he could respond to Shampoo. Ranma quickly picked it up and answered it. "Hello, Ranma Saotome here. What's the situation?"

Eris's voice quickly came across the phone. "We've got another portal opening at the Toshiro's Fish Store and Warehouse in 10 minutes. Get your handsome ass over there now." The planetary spirit then hung up.

Ranma sighed and then turned to Shampoo. "It's work. A situation has arisen that I need to take care of. Why don't you head back home and we'll finish this latter?" Shampoo nodded her head and then the two teens spit up. Ranma ran a couple of blocks until he found a secure area to transform. He quickly crossed his arms over his chest and called out, "Eris Planet Power, Glamour On!"

The bluish-black cloud of smoke caused by the transformation quickly disappeared to reveal Senshi Eris. With a predator like gleam in his eye, Senshi Eris jumped onto the roof and began to roof hop to Toshiro's. Beating up youmas was just what the doctor recommended to deal with school stress.

Senshi Eris made it to the fish store with two minutes to spare until the portal opened. He whispered out, "Phantom Form". This was another ability that Senshi Eris had created for himself. It was an extension of the Umisenken's ability to mask his presence. While in this form, the planetary champion could not be detected at all. However, it came with the tradeoff of not allowing him to use any of his other abilities while hidden. Sure he could use his martial arts moves, but that wouldn't be advisable in a heavily populated area like this. He was just using Phantom Form to insure that the regular people weren't startled by his presence before the youma arrived.

Soon enough, the uninvited guests of dishonor decided to crash the fish store. A portal opened up right in the middle of a swordfish that was on display startling everyone with flying fish chunks. Toshiro's customers quickly started running when they saw the first youma emerge from the portal. However, Senshi Eris's voice startled everyone as it cut through the crowd's screams, "Chaos Slash!"

Eris's champion shifted into view standing on top of a shelf as his attack soared towards the first youma coming out of the portal. Senshi Eris quickly followed his attack and was only a few feet away from the portal when the youma was cut in half. He then called out as he closed the gap, "Chaos Claws!"

The frightened shoppers stopped running and watched in awe as Senshi Eris stood in front of the portal's mouth and proceeded to rip apart the youma as they tried to cross over. Occasionally the guardian of evolution needed to brace himself for an incoming attack before continuing his defense. No matter how painful a youma attack was or how ferocious their attempt to force their way through was, Senshi Eris simply refused to let them pass. He knew innocent lives would be lost if he retreated even an inch.

Senshi Eris winced as he took another blow from a youma beam attack that almost made him fall to his knees. Luckily, he was able to withstand it and call out once again, "Chaos Claws." Senshi Eris's short ranged attack formed just in time for him to stab the youma that had tried to blast him to hell. The chaotic warrior peered into the portal and saw another dozen youmas rushing towards the opening. "Damn it," he muttered to himself, "How am I supposed to close this portal? I can't keep on fighting like this for much longer." Using Realm of Confusion to close the portal was out of the question; by the time he got halfway through the chant the youma would be clawing at him.

Without warning, a small sand covered whirlwind formed next to Senshi Eris. The champion glanced over and saw Lilith appear as the whirlwind died down. In her usual seductive tone she stated, "Sorry about not being here earlier to help deal with this threat. I came as soon as I detected the portal."

Eris's champion didn't bother to look at the alluring sorceress as he was too busy trying to gut yet another youma. Without pausing in his butchering operation, Senshi Eris replied, "That's fine. I wasn't anticipating any reinforcements anyway so it's great that you're here. By the way, do you have any idea on how to close this damn portal?"

"Give me a second to think, Senshi Eris. It's been a long time since I did any summoning." Lilith closed her eyes and entered her mindscape. Present Lilith quickly called out to the shades of her past lives in her mind, "Does anyone know how to seal a portal to another dimension quickly?"

One of the shades quickly appeared in front of Present Lilith wearing an even more provocative dress then her current outfit. The shade looked Present Lilith in the eye and stated, "I can provide you with the knowledge you seek. My lord King Solomon taught me much about everything needed in binding supernatural creatures. Closing this portal is a simple task."

Present Lilith glanced at royal concubine Lilith and then stated, "Will you please give me the knowledge? I need it now." The shade nodded her head and then pressed two fingers against Present Lilith's forehead. There was a flash of light in the mindscape as the knowledge was transferred between lives and then Lilith left her mindscape.

The sorceress opened her eyes and then called out, "I just recalled how to take care of this. Can you hold them off for just another minute or so until I can close the portal?"

Senshi Eris grunted as he took yet another attack and then muttered back, "Sure. Take as much time as you need." There was just a slight bit of sarcasm in his voice as he winced from the pain.

Lilith didn't pay any attention to Senshi Eris's complaining and rushed towards the fish preparation area. She picked up a sanitized knife and winked at the confused store attendant. "Sorry, but I'll have to borrow this to seal that portal. We wouldn't want monsters scaring away your customers now would we?"

The store attendant didn't do anything but watch Lilith's rear as she hurried back to the portal. Lilith paused for a second to prepare herself and then she slashed her wrist with the knife. She immediately ran her fingers along the blade to make sure that the cutting edge was coated in her blood. She then turned to Senshi Eris and called out, "Make sure to move when I finish the ritual!"

Lilith placed the palm of her hand on the back of the knife as she held it in front of her. "Oh Seraphim who guard the way, by thy lord and master's name I command you to forge a key to close the gates! With the essence of life granted by the Master, his name is:" the sorceress then used a bloody finger to trace the ancient Canaanite letters for YHWH. The knife started glowing with brilliant light until it looked like the blade was made of white fire.

Senshi Eris sliced another youma in half and then took the glowing knife as a sign to get out of the way. Lilith quickly rushed up and stabbed the knife into the portal's opening. A burning white Seal of Solomon appeared in front of the portal and incinerated a youma that tried to cross the portal. The seal then solidified so that it looked like a solid cast iron shield. Shortly thereafter, both it and the portal disappeared from sight.

Both champion and sorceress fell to their knees panting from their efforts. While Senshi Eris was catching his breath, Lilith was using her Hand of Hecate technique to take care of her slit wrist. "I think," Senshi Eris panted out, "That we should make a quick exit. Do you have enough strength to do your disappearing trick?"

Lilith shook her head. "If you get me out of here, I'll heal your wounds."

Senshi Eris quickly made up his mind as he stood up. The chaotic champion picked Lilith up in his arms bridal style and jumped onto a shelf. He then jumped out of a window and roof hooped a few roofs to get away from the fish store. Senshi Eris gently set the sorceress down on the roof and then plopped down in exhaustion.

Lilith got to her feet and then walked over to Senshi Eris. "Stay still; it will help my healing spell go faster, Hand of Hecate." It took Lilith a few minutes to fully heal Senshi Eris due to how much the sealing spell took out of her. She was literally soaking in her own sweat by the time she ended her spell.

Eris's champion looked over at his companion and made sure to keep his eyes focused on her eyes. He then mentally called out to his lady, "Hey Eris, do you here me?"

The planetary spirit quickly replied, "Yes, I hear you. Why are you hollering for me? Oh wait, let me guess. You want to use my power to recharge the sorceress."

"Well Eris, it seems like the right thing to do. After all, she did close that portal and heal me. Doesn't all that effort to help out deserve something?"

Eris paused for a moment to consider what her champion was asking. Finally, she got back to him. "I'll let her recharge with my powers, but I want something from you. You'll owe me one favor that I can call at anytime I want. After all, I originally set it up so that she could ask. Don't bother responding, I'll know if you've accepted my offer and price the moment you lock lips."

Senshi Eris then sighed and glanced over at Lilith who was still completely exhausted. All he needed was one unknown favor to help her out? That sounded like a fair deal to him. Senshi Eris then stood up and calmly said, "Hey Lilith, Eris is willing to let you recharge with her power."

Lilith put her hand to her chin for a second to consider what she and been told. The sorceress then crawled on her hands and knees to Senshi Eris. Lilith quickly positioned herself in the champion's lap and hungrily kissed him. Small bluish-black bolts of energy moved from Senshi Eris to Lilith as she absorbed more and more power. The energy bolts helped to increase Lilith's overall magic reserves as well as recharge her powers.

After a few seconds, the sorceress pulled back from the kiss. She then bowed her head at Senshi Eris. "Thank you for allowing me to recharge champion and be sure to let Eris-sama know how grateful I am for this." Lilith then gave the champion a quick, gentle peck on the cheek before doing her vanishing trick.

* * *

Ranma glanced at his watch when he started the last block to his house. He quickly smiled when he saw that he was only a few minutes till his mother started dinner. With the youma invasion taken care of, Ranma was sure he could just enjoy the rest of the day. After all, the fighting off a demonic invasion and then practically making out with a sorceress had to top off his bizarre quota for the day.

The young champion turned the corner and stopped dead in his tracks. "Pops, why are you set up like a piñata?" Ranma couldn't believe his eyes; his father was in panda form suspended in midair from the street light. Furthermore, there was a baseball bat lying against the street light with a sign next to the bat. The sign read: Whack Bozo the Bear for candy inside!

Genma pulled a sign out from somewhere, Ranma didn't have a clue where exactly, and showed it to his son. "Get me down now boy!"

Ranma put his hands on his hips and shook his head. "First tell me why you're up there. Did you annoy Mom or Shampoo?" The young martial artist quickly ducked to avoid getting hit by the sign he had just read.

The panda huffed and then grabbed another sign. "That doesn't matter now! –flip- What matters is you getting me –flip- down! That bat hurts!"

Ranma glanced up at the heavens and muttered to himself, "Why me?" He then used a Kajin Rashu Dan to cut the rope holding Genma to the lamppost. At the very least, the panda made a satisfying thud when he hit the pavement. Ranma then quickly went into the house and called out, "I'm home!" The young champion started walking towards the kitchen.

Nodoka quickly poked her head out of the kitchen and smiled at her son. "What wonderful timing Ranma! Shampoo and I were just about to set the table." The Saotome matriarch quickly turned her head and called out, "Ranma's home Shampoo so set his place."

Shampoo's response could be faintly heard by Ranma. "Yes, will do."

Nodoka returned her attention to Ranma and asked, "So what happened today Ranma? Shampoo told me that you got called away by your work because something had happened."

Ranma shrugged and quickly thought up an edited story for her to hear. "Some thugs were trying to get protection money from the manager of a warehouse. The manager got wind that the thugs would be by this afternoon to make an example of why he needed to pay. Since the warehouse was one of our customers, I was sent to make an example of the thugs about what happens when someone tries to go after our clients."

A grin appeared on Nodoka's face as she heard Ranma's story. "Oh how manly! You must have made short work of those ruffians since you don't have a scratch on you." Her eyes got a certain gleam as Nodoka continued. "Tell me son, did the manager have a cute daughter who wanted show you how much she 'appreciated' your manly efforts?"

It was only through sheer force of will that Ranma was able to keep from banging his head against the wall. What was going on in her head? Wait, on second thought he really didn't want to know. Ranma just shrugged she shoulders and replied, "No Mom. However, the manager did have some wonderful photos of his grandkids." Ranma's eyes bulged as soon as the words left his mouth. What the hell was he thinking saying something like that?

Luckily, fate decided to give Ranma a little break as Nodoka did not break out in a rant about grandchildren. Nodoka simply smiled and replied, "Well, you were acting like a great man helping an elder out today. Now, why don't you go to your place at the table while Shampoo and I put on the final touches to dinner?" The Saotome matriarch turned around and promptly walked back into the kitchen.

Ranma let out a sigh and then looked to the heavens. "Thank you, all you kami for that one." The young champion then had the strangest sensation that was as if someone was laughing at him. He quickly decided to ignore the sensation and headed for the dinner table. Whatever that was foretelling could wait until after dinner.

* * *

Several hours later, Ranma walked into his room and promptly crashed on his bed. "What a day," Ranma muttered to himself. "I can't believe that I had to pull out all of the Saotome clan records for the project along with the Makimachi clan records from mom's side. Still, I don't know of many people who can claim descent from both samurai and ninjas." He then sighed and shook his head. "I wish that Mom wasn't so insistent that Shampoo and I mention that she's Pop's mistress. That's going to make things difficult at school."

"No Ranma that will make things interesting." Ranma whipped his head around to see Eris leaning against his closed door. To his shock, the planetary spirit had her avatar form wearing an extremely provocative teddy. It took all of Ranma's willpower not to faint in shock. Eris simply smirked at her champion's reaction and slowly walked over to him. "Think about it for a moment Ranma. People are comfortable with their usual patterns and don't like it when something unexpected happens. Don't you Japanese have the saying that the nail which sticks up gets hammered down?"

Her eyes seemed to get brighter as she continued on. "Your father's situation with Shampoo is just perfect for stirring up a little chaos at your school. It will shock your classmates and force them to consider things they hadn't before. Some will be disgusted, others confused, and still others will want to consider possibilities that hadn't occurred to them before."

Ranma sent a small glare to Eris and focused on her face. "So, you're saying it's a good thing that I can't even pretend to be a normal student?"

Eris shrugged her shoulders and sat down next to Ranma. "My dear young champion, haven't you realized that I view things very different from mortals? What you consider to be good or bad and right or wrong is different then what I consider these concepts to be."

The young champion frowned and then asked, "What do you mean? When something's good it's good and when something's bad it's bad. How can something be good or bad? I mean, I know that circumstances play an important part in determining right or wrong. However, there are situations where something can't be right or can't be wrong."

A smile appeared on Eris's face as she twilled a lock of her crimson hair. "For the most part, you are correct Ranma. However, the difference comes in that I see the shades of gray in different places than you might. Take our current situation for example. An average person would find it 'wrong' for a young man like you to have a girl alone in his room; especially if the door is closed. You don't find anything 'wrong' with the two of us talking in private. But, you find in 'wrong' that I'm dress this provocatively. On the other hand, I don't find anything wrong with this situation. Indeed, I wouldn't find anything wrong if you had a girl here like this and you listened to your hormones that are telling you at this very moment to ravish me."

Ranma wasn't sure what bothered him more. That Eris knew the effect she was having on his body, the bluntness that she put it or her stance on the scenario she described. "What? How can you say something like that Eris?" Personally, the thought of anyone doing something like that to anyone sickened Ranma. It went against everything he knew as a martial artist and as a decent human being.

Eris merely shrugged. "As I stated earlier, I see things differently than you. Where you see moral principals, I only see evolution. From my point of view, anyone who couldn't fend of an unwanted mate should be pleased that the resulting union would have a superior specimen to sire him or her. This would insure that the next generation is stronger than then last. On the other hand, anyone who could fight of an unwanted mate is correct to do so. Such a weak bloodline in the unwanted partner should die out to insure the whole race's survival."

The young champion gulped as he realized once again just how different Eris was from him. It was easy to simply think of her as a powerful, but slightly crazy friend. Ranma thought for a moment about what Eris had revealed about herself. What she had told Ranma didn't make him regret becoming her champion; but it did put things into a new light. However, he needed to know something before his new view on things could be set. "Why do you seem so adamant about protecting the people of this city? I mean Eris, if you view things as survival of the fittest then why would you spare the weak?"

To Ranma's surprise, Eris started laughing. "Oh Ranma, Ranma, you still don't fully understand everything do you? Remember, you are the defender of chaos and evolution. You understand chaos as you live it practically every day. However, you still don't understand what evolution is. Simply put, evolution is life and one's ability to adapt to the changing circumstances in life. That phrase 'survival of the fittest' fails to truly capture everything. It makes one think of the strongest, the fastest, and the most perceptive."

"What the phrase fails to show is that circumstances change what is optimal for a person and a species survival. Your physical fitness is an optimal trait for anyone living in a society from a hunter gatherer to a preindustrial one. However, your physical traits are less important in a post industrial society where the ability to handle complex social interactions or grasp complex abstract concepts is optimal for success. Now tell me, my dear champion, how that is it that a completely different set of optimal traits could emerge if humanity was bred solely for a specific set of traits?"

Ranma closed his eyes and tried to think about the question Eris was giving him. It was difficult for Ranma to consider since he wasn't used to this sort of deep philosophical thinking. He was much more of a hands' on kind of guy. Suddenly, realization came to Ranma and he opened his eyes, "Generalization and cooperation! The new traits were able to emerge because those like me insured that weaker people could survive and they were able to lead to the emergence of new traits."

Eris smiled and gave Ranma quick kiss on the cheek. "Very good Ranma, you figured it out. The secret to your race's success was that it didn't overspecialize and cooperated with itself. Those who weren't the best at the time were allowed to live and pass on abilities that in time were needed because of changing circumstances. That is why I am so adamant that you help protect everyone in the city. The loss of a single life would result in everyone losing something that could insure the whole race's survival sometime in the future. That is what it means to be the guardian of evolution: you protect the future possibilities that in turn insure your race's survival."

Ranma nodded his head accepting Eris's answer. So she had different views on some subjects. He could live with that as their views mostly meshed together. Now that the deep philosophical debate was over, there was just one question on Ranma's mind. "Uh Eris, why are you here and in the getup?"

The planetary spirit simple and lay down next to Ranma. "I'm cashing in that favor you owe me Ranma. In return for recharging Lilith, I want to sleep next to you tonight. If the teddy bothers you I can always sleep in the nude."

Almost instantly Ranma nervously replied, "That's alright. The teddy is fine!" Mentally, Ranma was kicking himself for giving out an unspecified favor. Next time he'd make sure to know exactly what he was agreeing to before making any deal. Still, he had given his word and Eris had held up her side of the bargain. Thus, he was honor bound to keep his side of the deal. Ranma gave a sigh and muttered, "Alright, make yourself comfortable Eris."

Ranma then got up and started changing into his usual sleep ware. He then turned off the lights and returned to bed. Eris quickly wrapped her arms around Ranma and whispered in his ear, "Goodnight my champion."

The young champion nodded his head and replied, "You as well, my Lady".

* * *

Author's note: The debate between Ranma and Eris in this chapter was to highlight how different Eris is from normal people. Despite how she usually interacts with Ranma, Eris is an entity that lives a very different existence then humans. Thus her views and attitudes on things are very different. If you want, think of her like the gods of Greek mythology or the Fairies of folklore.

I remember a review mentioned how things were getting a little spicy for Ranma. Remember that the Ranma series had three main elements to it: zany martial arts, Ranma getting into embarrassing situation because of his curse, and Ranma unintentionally getting into compromising situations with girls. The situations he's getting himself into are no different then Shampoo glopping him in the bath, having Akane walk in on him, or barging into the women's changing room while a bunch of classmates are inside while he's looking for a mystical item.


	6. Chapter 6

Setsuna was walking to her class's classroom nursing a massive headache. Something was going on and it was causing her massive problems. All the students were talking about something in the news. However, every time Setsuna tried to hear what they were saying a massive screech like someone's nails scraping a chalkboard filled her ears. This sound didn't occur with everything the students were saying; it just occurred when some unknown topic came up.

Unfortunately, everyone in the school seemed to be talking about this subject and the scrapping sounds in her ear were slowly driving Setsuna insane. Setsuna sat down at her desk and noticed that she had a few minutes before class had to begin. The undercover guardian of time quickly decided to pull out her local newspaper to try and focus on something besides the torture her students were inflicting on her. She opened the paper and stared in shock at the first page.

For some unknown reason, the cover article and its accompanying caption were completely illegible. This wasn't a simple case of a bad print job. Instead, it looked to Setsuna like someone had censored the entire article and photo. Just what by the ancestors was going on? It was almost like she was under a spell that wouldn't allow her find out about something. That thought made Setsuna very, very uncomfortable and afraid.

Setsuna prided herself on her mental control, willpower, and restraint. This wasn't too surprising considering that anyone who guarded a portal that could manipulate time needed these characteristics to not fall into the temptation to start manipulating. Thus the mere possibility that she could be under the effects of some spell terrified Setsuna. She fought back a gulp at the possibility that she might be doing things under someone's orders.

However, now was not the time to panic over such possibilities. Right now see needed to teach her students and then once classes were over she could run a diagnostic spell to check herself for any magical alterations. Setsuna turned to face everyone and stated, "Alright class, time to settle down. I know that you all have a lot to tell your friends, but save it for your lunch break. Now, there are a couple of announcements that need to be made before I turn you over to Mr. Ishimura for your math."

Like many of the boys in the class, Ranma had been paying close attention to Setsuna. However, he wasn't paying attention to her figure. Ranma had noticed that Setsuna seemed to be in some sort of pain; in particular he noticed that she seemed to wince every time someone mentioned the fight yesterday at Toshiro's. What could this possibly mean?

Ranma kept these observations to himself and thought on them during breaks in his next few classes. A big part of him simply wanted to drop all thoughts on his homeroom teacher's situation and let it be. The kami knew that he was in a bunch of situations where it was better for regular people to just let him be. However, a part of Ranma just wouldn't let go. Why did hearing about the attack cause Setsuna so much pain? Besides, how many times had he brushed things off as not his concern only for them to come back around at him?

The young champion finally made up his mind to approach Setsuna about her situation during lunch. After Ranma finished his lunch he promptly made his way back to the classroom. Like he expected, Setsuna was sitting at her desk finishing up her lunch. An opened bottle of extra-strength Tylenol showed that she was still suffering. Setsuna glanced up as Ranma entered the classroom and gave him a weary smile. "If you want to start on your homework Saotome, feel free to do so."

Ranma walked up to his teacher's desk and nervously asked, "Are you okay Ms. Meioh? I mean, you looked like you were getting a headache whenever people mention the incident-" Ranma paused in mid sentence when he saw Setsuna apparently bracing for the pain. He frowned and then asked, "That's what I mean. Whenever someone mentions that topic you look like someone punched you in the gut."

Setsuna could feel the sweat drops forming on the back of her head at Ranma's question. How could he see through her? Damn it, she was the millennium long champion at holding a poker face! She should have been able to remain impassive even if she went into an iron maiden. So how by the goddess was Ranma reading her situation? The only reason for this catastrophe that she could think of was that she was in more pain that she had thought.

The guardian of time knew she needed to say something or she'd look suspicious and that was the last thing she wanted to do. Setsuna sighed and then gave her answer. "I've got a very bad headache Mr. Saotome. Talking about that only aggravates my headache."

It was obvious that Setsuna was not telling the whole truth, but Ranma simply nodded his head and went to his desk. Ranma then pretended to work on his homework while mulling over what he had learned. He knew that Setsuna couldn't hear about the attack because it caused her pain. It was almost like something was actively preventing her from finding out about the attack.

Realization suddenly hit Ranma like a freight train. Eris had stated that the other planetary champions wouldn't be able to find out about youma because of some unintended side effects of Luna's champion's spell. Furthermore, one of the champions was in the area looking for the newest champion a.k.a. him. Setsuna had recently arrived in the area and she couldn't find out about youma attacks because something was preventing her. Could she be the champion looking for him?

Ranma's cell phone started going off causing him to quickly leave the classroom. The young champion quickly ducked into a janitor's closet and pulled out his phone. "Ranma here, what's the situation?"

Eris's voice cheerfully came over the phone. "Good afternoon Ranma. I was just checking in on you a few minutes ago and I noticed that you think you've figured out who the champion looking for you is. Do you want to make your guess official? If you guess correctly you'll win a fabulous prize. If you've made a mistake; well, lets just say that you really don't want to make a mistake."

"Wait a minute Eris, you were reading my mind?"

"Of course I was Ranma. How did you think I talked with you yesterday when you wanted to heal Lilith? Besides, figuring out what a guy is thinking is easy for any girl. Now, are you going to make your guess now or not?"

Ranma sighed and then shrugged his shoulders. It wasn't like he could simply put this guess off; Eris would put him through a whole new round of hellish training for showing indecision and being a coward. Not that he minded the training, but it was general principal. "Alright Eris, I think that Setsuna Meioh is the planetary champion looking for me."

The sound of trumpets came blaring through the phone and then Eris suddenly appeared in a shimmering dress fit for a movie star going to an awards ceremony. She promptly planted a kiss on Ranma's lips and called out, "Congratulations Ranma! You were correct, Setsuna is a planetary champion. I can't tell you which spirit she champions since that would allow the other spirits to blab about you. Still, you were able to use your weakest skill, non-combat analytical and deductive reasoning, and solve the challenge I set for you."

Eris then snapped her fingers causing a rather large Macuahuitl to appear next to her in a puff of bluish black smoke. The handle and main body of the weapon was made of some sort of black wood while the blades of the weapon were made out of blackish-blue stones. "This is your reward Ranma! This is the talisman I created for you when I made you Senshi Eris. I've withheld giving it to you up till now because I wanted to be sure that you could use your brains as well as your brawns. Not that I had any doubts you'd earn it, but nobody hands a newbie all of the good stuff. This talisman is called the Mania Macuahuitl. By having it on your person you will double your abilities; any attacks that you channel through Mania Macuahuitl will be five times stronger than that doubled base. Needless to say, this is a very powerful weapon that you'll have to use carefully. Oh yah, you can also use it in melee attack since it's got a very wicked edge. You could saw off a stone dragon golem's head with that if you wanted."

Mania Macuahuitl crackled with power for a second and then was covered in smoke. Ranma instantly noticed that the talisman was now resting on his back like a sheathed sword. Eris's talisman then glowed and sunk into Ranma's body integrating itself with his champion form. Ranma looked at Eris wondering if his Lady had anything else in store for him this visit. As it turned out, Eris merely vanish her clothes, kiss Ranma firmly on the lips, and then vanish from sight. Ranma quickly took the opportunity to join his fellow students in returning to the classroom before things became awkward for him.

* * *

"Ranma?"

"Yes Shampoo?"

"Are most Japanese males a bunch of stupid morons who follow the direction of the loudest idiot?"

"Sorry to say 'mother', it looks like you're right about the guys around here being a bunch of morons. My only question is where did the upperclassman whose suppose to have started this whole embarrassment get the idea? I mean, our family report doesn't come out for another two weeks and I don't know how this Kuno fellow could have come up with an idea so similar to your village's laws otherwise."

Shampoo and Ranma hung there heads in embarrassment as they watched the latest batch of insanity to hit Nerima unfurl before their very eyes. Several dozen school boys, all armed with various improvised weapons, were blocking everyone from entering the school while shouting about their love for some girl named Akane. The rest of the student body looked on either in embarrassment or thinking about joining the mob. Both 'mother' and 'son' were standing in the crowd of onlookers wondering why they couldn't have a simple, normal school life.

The dull roar of the onlookers made it almost impossible for anyone to clearly hear anything besides their neighbors or the barricading mob's chant. Luckily, Ranma was able to pick up some peoples' voices or he'd have no clue why this bizarre situation was happening.

"Didn't you hear? Upperclassman Kuno made a declaration is speech class the other day!"

"-Won't allow Akane to be dated unless defeated."

"Can you believe it? Akane Tendo's got all these guys-"

Deciding he had heard enough, Ranma turned to face Shampoo. "Hey Shampoo, what do you say we get out of here? I'm thinking the roof would be a good way in."

Shampoo gave her adopted son a quick smile and then called out, "Just try and keep up!" She then jumped into the air, landed on the overhead above the school entrance, and then jumped onto the school roof. Ranma took a slightly different route up by jumping onto the school's wall, grabbing a second story window ledge, and then used the ledge to go into a cartwheel onto the roof. The duo's actions briefly shocked everyone down below, but the mob's chanting for Akane quickly made the students forget about the duo.

Both of the super martial artists quickly entered their school from the rooftop entrance and walked to their classroom. The arrived in the classroom just in time to have box office seats for Akane Tendo verses the Hentai Horde. It took Akane about five minutes to pulverize the horde into a bruised bunch of bozos. The duo was then treated to the follow-up act Akane verses the Shooting Simpleton.

The Amazonian's face was clearly showing her disgust with the antics below as she watched Akane and Kuno fight. "This travesty is a mockery and affront to Amazonian tradition! What kind of man fights in a group for the woman he wants? Four year olds back at the village know that a challenge carries no weight if the combat is not one on one. And what's with that stick wielding moron who's supposed to have started this whole insult? Is he some sort of eunuch that he can't hope to please a girl unless she's been worn out by dozens of little boys?"

A quick chuckle escaped Ranma's lips when he heard Shampoo's attacks on Kuno's manhood. Personally, Ranma had his own doubts about the upperclassman given that the fool had supposedly started this whole mess. Ranma then sighed and shook his head. "What makes this whole situation embarrassing is that there's no point to it. Kuno doesn't have the authority to make such a decree as he isn't Akane's father or guardian. The fact that people are listening to the bozo only makes them look like fools."

"Of course, that Akane girl's making a fool out of herself in how she's handling this situation. She should point out that she never agreed to Kuno's proclamation and that it isn't valid. Also, she shouldn't fight back and instead focus on avoiding their attacks. If Akane did this then she could have every single one of those morons arrested for assault and premeditated attempted rape. The big house would probably do these fools some good. Sadly, her striking those fools pretty much negates any protection the law would offer her from this insanity. Didn't anyone teach this girl that part of martial arts is about knowing when to strike?"

Shampoo nodded her head and then stated, "Well, at least we don't have to deal with that mess. After all, we can easily get by those losers if they keep this up and that girl is in another class so we don't ever have to worry about running into her again." Ranma nodded his head grateful for at small blessing.

* * *

The people of Nerima were treated to an odd sight as the entire Saotome family strolled down the street in the rain. Ranma and Shampoo were walking on either side of Genma's panda form with each teen carrying an umbrella. Genma himself was walking on all fours while Nodoka sat on his back like some fantasy queen. The panda gave a short and dull roar to show his annoyance at being his wife's beast of burden.

Nodoka leaned over and petted Genma's head. "Oh don't be so grumpy dear. I can't tell you how much fun it is to ride you like this. Besides, I'll let you 'ride' me as soon as we get home."

Both teens glanced at each other and muttered together, "TMI."

Nodoka pretended not to hear what her son and cowife said and kept her attention on her husband. "Now Genma, how much father is it to the Tendo Dojo? I can't wait for Ranma to pick out his new bride among your friend's daughters! Oh why didn't you tell me that you had arranged this match earlier? We should have introduced Ranma to his future bride as soon as he got home!"

Ranma rolled his eyes and refrained from sighing at his mother's antics. Wasn't it just his luck that this new curveball came into his life just as soon as he gotten used to how things were? Things were just so simple: go to school, beat up youma that tried to appear, and train on Eris in his downtime. How was he supposed to juggle a fiancée into this pattern?

The most annoying thing about this whole situation to Ranma was the fact that Eris was putting her full support behind the engagement. Well, she gave her full support in her usually unique way. Ranma could still remember Eris's words when he told her the situation. "If the girl is halfway decent then you must stick to her. Even an average mate can pass on a bloodline and provide relaxation after a brutal battle or harsh training. If you don't think she'll produce children that will be capable of handling your mantle then simply take another mate as well. I have no problem was a superior specimen insuring his lineage. Just make sure that the girl isn't some vapid airhead; if she is then transport her to my body and I'll insure that no one ever finds her corpse."

Knowing that there was no help from Eris, Ranma simply resigned himself to the inevitable. Hopefully, this Soun Tendo that his father trained with would have a daughter that was tolerable. Part of Ranma also hoped that his future wife wouldn't mind his hectic lifestyle and wouldn't end up as a reoccurring victim of the week. However, he wasn't about to as for a miracle. The thought of what that kind of blessing would cost him sent a shiver up the young Saotome's spine.

Soon enough the quartet reached the Tendo Dojo where Ranma rang the doorbell. He was immediately rewarded for this with a bear crushing hug from Soun. "Oh Happy Day, at long last you're here to fulfill the pledge!" Soun then paused and looked around in confusion. "Where are you Genma?"

Ranma freed himself from Soun's death grip and quickly caught his breath. "Mr. Tendo I presume? I understand you're excited about the pledge, but wouldn't it be wise to check and see who you are hugging? If it had been anyone other then I who answered the door you would have put yourself in a rather embarrassing situation of greeting the wrong person. At least, I'm assuming it was me you were referring to since my father Genma never mentioned that I'd be getting any brothers-in-law at the same time as I got my future bride."

Soun blinked his eyes and then muttered, "Ranma Saotome?" Ranma gave Soun a curt nod causing the older man to smile. "Sorry my boy, I'm just so happy that this day has arrived. But please can you introduce me to your companions?" Mr. Tendo thought he recognized Genma's wife, but he couldn't for the life of him place the panda or the purple haired bombshell.

Eris's champion pointed to each person in turn as he did the introductions. "This is my Mom. This is Shampoo, my father's Amazonian wife, and the Panda underneath my mother is my father Genma Saotome." THUD! Ranma blinked his eyes as he watched Soun fall to the ground in shock.

* * *

A short time later found the Saotomes and Tendos sitting around the table with the Saotomes just finishing up explaining their unusual situation. The expressions on the Tendos faces covered a broad spectrum of emotions from Akane's disgusted look, to Nabiki's WTF look, Kasumi's calm and yet slightly unsettled look, to Soun's deliriously happy look. Soun didn't seem to pay any attention to how his daughters were shocked at the Saotome's situation as he spoke up. "These are my daughters: Kasumi age 19, Nabiki age 17, and Akane age 16. Please choose which one of my daughters will be your bride Ranma."

Time seemed to slow down for Ranma as his mind entered full battle mode. He was in a dangerous situation and needed to make a life changing decision quickly. Ranma was sure that if he didn't his father would make the decision for him and that was unacceptable. The biggest problem for Ranma was the fact that he knew little about the girls in question and most likely wouldn't be able to ask for time to think about the choice. He pulled everything he ever knew about the girls and weighed the scant information he had.

First he considered Akane since she was the same age as him. On the one hand, she was cute and rumor had it at school that she was a friendly girl. She was also a martial artist which would fulfill the 'join the schools' aspect of the pledge that his father had mentioned. On the other hand, choosing her would mean dealing with her fanboys at school and Ranma had no desire to waste his time dealing with fools. Besides, her acceptance of the hentai horde situation despite her protests to the contrary showed a disturbing lack of judgment. Ranma already had enough trouble on that count from his father and he didn't need any more of it.

Nabiki was quickly put out of the running. She was very sexy and had a rather crafty head on her shoulders. However, her lack of ethics as shown by her swindling a classmate with his inhaler made her an instant fail. Eris might not be bothered by that fact, hell she'd probably insist that he sire at least one child with Nabiki in the future, but Ranma couldn't accept the idea of a wife who didn't have a strong sense of morals. That was something that simply too ingrained into him thanks to martial arts.

Finally, there was Kasumi to consider. Like her sisters, the oldest Tendo sister was beautiful, possibly even breathtaking. Ranma knew that he knew the least about Kasumi. In fact, I he actually knew about her was that she had a friendly disposition and that she had helped him once in the grocery store. That made her an unknown factor in his analysis, but the fact that she had helped a stranger indicated that she couldn't be too bad.

Trusting in his gut, Ranma blurted out his answer. "Kasumi, er, I choose Kasumi to be my bride Mr. Tendo."

Soun's smiled grew even brighter than anyone thought possible and he started to break dance in joy. "Oh happy day, my dear sweet Kasumi is a bride! Wonderful choice my boy, you pick a real winner. I promise that you won't regret choosing Kasumi as your wife."

Nabiki, though she didn't want to admit it, was rather pissed that she had been passed over by Ranma. Not that she wanted to be Ranma's wife, she was just annoyed that people always paid attention to Akane or Kasumi and ignored her. "So brother to be, why did you choose Kasumi? Is it that you're into older women?"

Ranma's danger sense started blaring telling him that he was entering a mind field. If Ranma had just been trained by Genma he would have ignored the warning. Luckily for him, Eris had taught him how to watch what he said a little bit. "Er, its nothing like that. I simply remembered Kasumi helping me find something at the grocery store a few weeks ago. I don't really know you three and your father insisted that I choose now. I simply went with my gut which told me that I couldn't go wrong with a friendly young woman who was willing to help out a stranger in need."

A faint blush formed on Kasumi's face when she heard Ranma's words. She was still shocked that she was going to be Ranma's future wife. It wasn't that she had anything against the young man; it was just that he was so young. However, a part of her was thrilled that he thought that she, plain old Kasumi, would make a good bride. It was also touching that Ranma remembered her after she helped him out that one time.

Nodoka and Genma quickly joined Soun in his break dancing routine. Akane, Nabiki, and even Ranma turned their heads to look at Shampoo. The young Amazonian raised an eyebrow and stated, "What? Are you expecting me to join the other parents in that routine?" Kasumi merely shook her head and wondered what kind of family she was joining.

* * *

"Memo to me, find a better way of getting out of family functions." Senshi Eris muttered to himself as he proceeded to bash a youma's skull in with his fists. The Champion of Chaos and Evolution shook his head as he watched more and more youmas pour out into the warehouse. Eris had called her champion about fifteen minutes after he had chosen Kasumi to inform him about a major imminent youma incursion. Normally this wouldn't be a problem for Senshi Eris. However, the Tendos had eaten up his warning time because of having to explain that he had a job and informing Akane that she couldn't tag along.

Just like he had feared, Senshi Eris's inability to leave quickly had resulted in a beachhead situation. "Damn, where is Lilith? Why is it that the one time I end up late to a fight she has to end up late as well?" Senshi Eris didn't want to admit it, but he had grown to depend on the mysterious sorceress in his battles. It was good to have a comrade in a battle like this and she did have skills that were extremely useful. After all, it wasn't like he knew how to seal a magical inter-dimensional portal.

Senshi Eris considered his options while slashing another youma in half with Chaos Claw variant kick. These youmas were weaker then the ones he usually faced and he could kill them not problems at the present rate. However, their sheer number would result in a high about of collateral damage if he didn't take it up a level. Chaotic Claw Windmill was out of the question because too many youmas would likely escape once he unleashed that attack. It was only a series of his Chaos Slash attacks with a shortened time in between each attack.

Eris's champion grabbed the handle of his talisman and brought Mania Macuahuitl to bear. "Well," Senshi Eris muttered to himself. "I know I can use this from my training; just wish I could have drawn it against a more worthy opponent. When this is over I'm really going to have to create an attack to be used against groups." Senshi Eris closed his eyes for a second and channeled his powers into his talisman. The technique he had in mind was designed to take down a very large and heavily armored enemy, but it should work for this situation.

Mania Macuahuitl was glowing with Senshi Eris's power and small bolts of lighting were dancing between its blades. Senshi Eris grinned and shifted his stance so he looked like a baseball player waiting to swing his bat. The champion grinned as swung his talisman shouting out, "Chaos Slash Revised: Oceloti Claws!" A giant blackish-blue crescent of energy formed and then shot out at the youmas. The blade moved like an unstoppable juggernaught slicing through any youma that came within its pass. Just before the attack was about to hit the wall Senshi Eris shouted out, "Claws Retract!" The energy behind his attack instantly dissipated seconds before it cut into the wall.

Suddenly, a very familiar orb attack flew next to Senshi Eris and slammed into a youma that was only a few feet behind him. Senshi Eris blinked his eyes wondering how the youma could have snuck up on him. Lilith emerged from the shadows with her usual eye smile. "That's a pretty powerful attack you've got there Senshi Eris. However, I really wouldn't do that again when fighting a group unless you've got someone to cover your back. Its sheer power makes it impossible for a person to detect anything other then the attack."

Considering that a youma had snuck up on him, Senshi Eris wasn't about to disagree with Lilith's observations. Both warriors quickly fell into their usual battle patterns that had been born in these sorts of fights. Senshi Eris had sheathed Mania Macuahuitl since he no longer needed to use its power in the fight. The youma no longer had a chance since their entire troop had emerged and the two warriors had timed their strikes in such a way that there was no relief from their onslaught. Less then three minutes after she joined the fight, Lilith fired her Bendis Blast into the last youma on the field.

Lilith gave a quick glance at the youma she had dispatched and then walked over to the portal. She then summoned a knife from somewhere and proceeded to seal the portal like she had at Toshiro's. The sorceress fell to her knees painting in exhaustion immediately after the sealing was complete. Lilith glanced over at Senshi Eris and called out, "Hey would you and Eris Sama mind it if I borrowed some of your power to replenish my reserves?"

Senshi Eris chuckled nervously and then started scratching his head. "I'm not so sure that it would be a good idea to do so tonight." Oh man, how was he supposed to handle this situation? Senshi Eris hadn't minded helping Lilith recharge her power in pervious situations; what red-blooded guy would mind helping out a hot woman and getting to kiss her at the same time? However, he had a fiancée to think about now. The idea of kissing Lilith now seemed wrong to Senshi Eris since he had Kasumi. True, she had only been selected as his future wife less than an hour ago. But, it was the principal of the thing!

To Senshi Eris's surprise, Lilith actually started chuckling. "How sweet, you're worried about what your fiancée will think aren't you?"

Eris's champion blurted out, "How the hell did you know?"

Lilith gave the champion a seductive smile and replied, "You need to work on your exits more Ranma Saotome. Besides, you spirit's signature stays the same whether you're in your champion form or just being yourself."

Senshi Eris frowned and shot back, "Okay you know who I am. I don't know how you found out about my recent engagement, but that should let you know that things can't continue as they were. I'll talk to Eris and see if there's a way you can have your power recharged after these fights like she promised. However, we can't do it like we have been doing previously."

A strange gleam appeared in Lilith's eye that the champion couldn't figure out for the life of him. The sorceress crawled even closer to him and 'accidentally' allowed her top to partially slip exposing her right breast to the young champion. "Why should you having a fiancée have anything to do with us? It's not like an ordinary girl could find out about this secret life of yours."

To Lilith's surprise, Senshi Eris got down on his knees and gently slipped her top back into place without touching her bosom. He then looked into her eyes and said, "Whether my fiancée finds out or not doesn't matter. The fact is that kissing you would mean cheating on her and that's wrong period. I wouldn't be a man if I went behind her back like that even if no one ever found out. Such an action would dishonor you, her, and me.

The seductive and sensuous aura that clung to Lilith like white on rice instantly vanished. She softly smiled at Senshi Eris and said, "You passed my test Ranma." Lilith reached up, grabbed her facemask, and pulled it down to reveal her face to Senshi Eris.

Senshi Eris stared at Lilith's face in shock. All he could say as he looked at her was, "Kasumi?"

* * *

Author's note: Senshi Eris's talisman, the Macuahuitl, is a mesoamerican weapon that is a cross between a club and a sword. One could almost think of it like a stone age chainsaw sword. If you want to see it in action, I'd suggest looking at clips from Deadliest Warrior.


	7. Chapter 7

Senshi Eris couldn't believe what his eyes were telling him. Lilith, the undeniably sexy and powerful sorceress who'd been helping him out for the past month or so was Kasumi? Granted he didn't know a whole lot about his fiancé, but she didn't seem like Lilith at all. If anything, Kasumi seemed like the model samurai's wife from folklore: alluring, responsible, humble, and respectable. The two images just couldn't work together; it'd be like mixing oil and water.

Lilith, er Kasumi, whoever the girl in front of Senshi Eris actually was smiled at the champion's confusion and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "Oh come now Ranma is it really that hard to comprehend that you've been making out with your fiancé for the pass month without even realizing it." The young woman frowned as she watched her future husband freeze up. She waited a few seconds for his mind to reboot and then sighed. "Great, he froze up. I might as well go for the shock treatment."

The sorceress closed her eyes for a few seconds to conduct a little meeting with her past selves over how she should shock her betrothed. A faint blush appeared on her cheeks for a second before it faded away. Her hands went up to her shoulders and quickly pulled the top of her shirt down. She then leaped onto Senshi Eris shouted out, "I Love You Husband."

Something between tackle, the semi-nudity, the unexpected proclamation, and the hard fall to the ground caused Senshi Eris's mind to reboot. Eris's champion looked up at Lilith, who as already putting her top back on, and shouted out, "What the hell was that for?"

Lilith adjusted herself so that she was sitting on the champion's chest before answering. "Basic shock therapy, I needed to do something to reset that mental fuse of yours. Personally, I don't see why you're so upset since that was such a tame thing for me to do. Philip used to love it when I danced naked with snakes. Hell, that's why he made me his queen before the jerk left me for another woman."

Senshi Eris blinked his eyes in confusion. "Who's Philip?"

The sorceress smiled and replied, "King Philip II of Macedon was a lover of mine in a pervious lifetime. You probably don't recognize him, but you will recognize the son that he and that incarnation had: Alexander the Great." Ranma's eyes widened when he heard Lilith say that and they kept on getting bigger as she went on. "I think you're starting to catch on. Kasumi is the latest incarnation, the 108th incarnation if my memory serves me, of my soul. Actually, I could be considered Kasumi's 'dream' if you will. 'Lilith' as you know her is a result of Kasumi awakening too soon."

Senshi Eris blinked his eyes trying to understand what his fiancé was telling him. He is faint abilities at sensing peoples ki showed that Kasumi and Lilith were very close. The only difference that he could sense was that 'Lilith's aura seemed to be charged with power even in her exhausted state. "What do you mean that you're a dream?"

Lilith responded by straddling the champion and lowering her head to where their noses were almost touching. "It's very simple dear; you with your chaotic powers activated my awakening far too soon. Had things progressed as I planned, I would have become accustomed to my growing power for the next decade and fused with my past incarnations sometime in my 30s. That would have allowed me to awaken smoothly like I have dozens of times in the past."

The sorceress then gave off a hostile vibe and practically growled at Senshi Eris. "However, you fucked that up! That attack of yours back at the grocery store exposed me to massive amounts of chaotic power. Hell, every cell in my body absorbed the magic when you rewrote the laws of reality to make it impossible for the youma to touch me. All of that power damaged me and caused Kasumi to awaken far too soon."

A sudden mood swing resulted in Lilith throwing her face onto Senshi Eris's chest and crying up a storm that would put her father to shame. "I couldn't handle it! The memories, the power, the techniques, it was all too much for me. I was barely able to make it back home and get to my room before the pain became too much for me to bear. Without the preparation I was supposed to have my mind snapped resulting in Lilith.

"I'm Kasumi with my inhibitions and morals removed given into my passions. Whenever I tap into my power I stop viewing the world as 'Kasumi' sees it and start seeing things as 'Lilith' sees it. Kasumi and Lilith aren't even my sole personalities! Each of my past lives was given a voice by your powers meaning I have to deal with them every time I need to learn a skill that they possessed. Luckily I only hear them whispering in my mind when I'm Lilith. Kasumi is my isle of sanity, but only if I spend part of my day as Lilith to prevent my powers from further bleeding into my regular life!"

Her confession was like a knife twisting in Senshi Eris's heart. "I'm sorry." He whispered out only repeat the phrase several more times. "Please forgive me Kasumi, Lilith, or however you want to be addressed as. I never intended for this to happen to you. I didn't even know my powers could possibly have that effect."

"I know. That, and the fact that you're trying to protect the people of this city, is why I never tried to hunt you down like a dog for putting me in this jam. It actually turned out to be a good thing to because your power has been helping me out."

"Huh?"

The sorceress gave the champion a few quick kisses and then playfully replied, "Your power is drawn form Eris Sama; a powerful spirit of strife and growth. Every time you imparted some of your power to me I received some of that energy for growth. That innate ability to grow and adapt which is laced into your power helps me to adjust. I've always been able to access more of my powers and my mind is better able to cope with the stress constant reincarnation brings."

Lilith then got off of Senshi Eris and walked and walked a few feet away. "I'm going to disengage my power now and return to my 'true' self. Make sure I get home safely and expect to deal with an emotional mess. Its so annoying that I'm concerned about such ridiculous things like 'modesty' and 'property' went I stop using my powers." Lilith then snapped in fingers causing a plum of white smoke to cover her.

Senshi Eris watched as the smoke disappeared to reveal Kasumi standing in the kimono he remembered her wearing back at the Tendo Dojo. Kasumi gave the almost demonic looking heavy rocker reject a quick glance before she started blushing and crying. She immediately buried her head in her arm in shame and then started running away.

The young champion was about to take off after Kasumi, but Eris suddenly appeared in front of him. "Let me handle this. I'll talk to your new mate and get her calmed down. You just head home for now. Tomorrow head over to the dojo and offer to take her out on a date." Senshi Eris thought about questioning his Lady, but the look on his face told him it was better to obey.

* * *

Kasumi ran as fast as her legs could carry her as if it were possible to outrun the shame she was feeling. She eventually made it to a park a little ways from the dojo and broke down crying on grass. "Why? Why did this have to happen? Is it too much to ask for a little self-control when I'm Lilith? How will I ever face Ranma again? He probably thinks I'm nothing more than a slut now with how I was carrying on as Lilith. I bet he'll want to break the engagement now and find a more respectable girl."

That last thought sent shivers down Kasumi's back. She had been uneasy at the thought of being Ranma's fiancé when he made his decision. After all, he was younger than her and boys his age did tend to rather immature. Kasumi had also been uneasy about marrying anyone due to her wild half. Knowing that Ranma and Senshi Eris had made things a little easier for Kasumi as she already knew that the champion was an honorable person. She still wasn't that comfortable with the idea of the two of them getting married. However, Ranma showed the signs of what she wanted in a husband and a part of her wanted his approval. The thought that 'Lilith' might make her unsuitable to be a wife of the kind of person Ranma was becoming scared Kasumi.

Suddenly a voice called out, "Don't bet on it girl." Kasumi glanced up and saw Eris walking towards her. Eris walked a little closer to Kasumi, folder her arms across her chest, and gave off a little smirk. "Ranma's not a piece of self-righteous trash that would abandon a girl simply because she's 'different' then expected. I will admit the big lug is confused about what he should do. However, that's just because he's never had a girlfriend before." Eris's grin grew even bigger as she continued. "Even if he had wanted to get rid of you, which is definitely not the case, I wouldn't let him."

Kasumi blinked her eyes and gasped out, "What? What do you mean Eris Sama?"

Eris rolled her eyes and then squatted down on her haunches. "Enough with the 'sama' Kasumi, I really couldn't give a damn about titles. I just care about the people behind the titles and their abilities. As to why I wouldn't let Ranma get rid of you even if he wanted to," the spirit paused to shrug her shoulders. "To be blunt, you're too valuable as a broodmare for me to even think of letting my champion let you go."

The spirit gently placed a hand on Kasumi's cheek and smiled at the shocked young woman. "Don't think that I only see you as a baby making factory Kasumi. I respect your power, your fortitude, and how well you've handle yourself so far in a situation that would have already left most people mad. That's why I've let Ranma give you my power and why I strengthened its ability to help you grow. However, certain decrees force me to look at any woman associated with my champion and assess their breeding abilities."

"You see, when a spirit like me first chooses a champion we had free reign to pick whoever we want. However, when that champion dies we have to pick our next champion from among the descendents of the original champion. If no descendent exists, we are unable to pick a new champion like we did our first champion for a thousand years. The other planetary spirits simply passed the position down the line from eldest to eldest. Very quickly, these champion lines started to shrink until only a single heir was born to the only living descendent at a time. This resulted in their last champions being nothing more than foolish inbred nobles who could only hope to wield a fraction of the power their ancestors once had."

"I refuse to allow that to happen to me! I plan on having Ranma sire many children with many powerful women such as yourself. Furthermore, I plan to see to it that the best of his decedents' continue to sire large families. With this in place, I'll always have a host of strong warriors from whom I'll be able to pick the strongest to be my new Senshi Eris. By giving you my power, I was able to learn who most of your previous incarnations were. Almost without fail, any child you gave birth to became great: Sargon of Akkad, Ramses II, Cyrus I, Alexander the Great, Ashoka, Attila the Hun, Belisarius, Alp Arslan, Genghis Khan, Timur, Hernando Cortez, and Napoleon. So you see Kasumi, it is in my best interests that the two of you have a long and very fruitful life together."

Kasumi nodded her head meekly accepting Eris's praise. It was a little embarrassing for her to think of the body count her little boys tended to rack up. "Okay, I understand Eris. Just out of curiosity, exactly how soon are you hoping that we'll have a child?" The thought that Ranma likely would be with other women besides her didn't bother Kasumi too much. After all her own ancestors had tended to be polygamous until around the Meji Revolution and she had several lifetimes' worth of experience living in a harem. Besides, the fragmented memories she could access as 'Kasumi' told her that Champions had to obey direct orders from their pledged spirit.

Eris helped to coax Kasumi up from the grass and simply smiled at her. "I'll be happy if there's at least one heir in the next five or six years. It's not like I'm going to have you strapped to a bed and pushing out kid every nine months. A reasonable romance between the two of you is perfectly alright; although I'd prefer it to be spicy when you don't have enemy attacks. Ranma does have a 1,000 to 1,100 year lifespan to look forward to if he doesn't get himself killed beforehand. Now enough with my eugenics problems, let's get you home. Just so you know I've got dozens of stories about the big lug that will just have you laughing."

About halfway to the Tendo Dojo Kasumi received a cell phone from Eris. The spirit stated it was so that she could be informed of incoming attacks. Personal use of the phone was accepted and in the case of setting up date with Ranma it was encouraged. Eventually the two got within sight of Kasumi's house causing the two to part ways. Eris caused her astral form to reappear above the clouds. She then immediately made an akanbe at the Moon. "Take that Luna! You're stuck with the runt of the litter while I'm going to get a great possible heir once those two start feeling frisky."

* * *

Life can be a drag. Ranma knew that for a fact as yesterday he had gone to school, had to select a future bride for himself, fought off a malicious magical incursion, found out that his fiancé switched between being a sizzling sex bomb and a demure housewife. And now, here he was once again heading back to school with Shampoo to face the hell that was the public school system. At least he could enjoy the mindless monotony as the teachers tried to turn him into an obedient drone of society.

These musings came to an abrupt halt when shouts about Akane could be heard coming from the school yard. Ranma hung his head and silently said a prayer that the hentai horde was not blocking the school entrance. The young champion then poked his head around the corner and couldn't believe what he was seeing. That damn horde was even bigger than it was yesterday! What was wrong with his gender?

Shampoo watched as her 'son' whipped his head back from the school wall and pull out his cell phone. "What are you doing Ranma?"

Ranma gave Shampoo a quick glance as he started dialing. "Taking care of something that neither school officials or the kami want to mess with." He then put the phone to his ear and started to speak. "Hello Nerima Police. This is a concerned citizen calling to inform you about a riot that's formed in Furinkan High's school yard. It seems that a mass of boys have armed themselves with makeshift weapons and are clamoring that they will beat and then 'date' a girl at the school."

There was a momentary paused as Ranma received the police's reply. His eyes widened with surprise and mirth once he got the police's answer. "You're sending in the Kidotai? Oh thank you! I have family that goes to that school and I'm deathly afraid of her being targeted by that mob." Ranma then ended the call and put the phone back where he usually kept it.

Shampoo crossed her arms and grinned at Ranma. "You're sending the riot police after the hentai horde?"

Ranma immediately nodded his head. "Something needed to be done about that embarrassment and it's aggravating to watch them fight Akane day after day. It's especially aggravating when I have to deal with my job the night before. Let's go around the back and watch the show." The duo quickly jumped onto the wall and ran around to the side of the school. Shampoo and Ranma then jumped onto school roof and proceed to set up for the show. Ranma pulled out a collar of soda from hammerspace and then used his ki to make two bags of instantly cooked popcorn. At the same time, Shampoo set up some lawn chairs and a scoreboard.

Both martial artists barely had time to sit down and grab a soda when the armored police cars appeared on the horizon. The Kidotai quickly poured out of the armored cars and marched into the school courtyard with their riot shields before them creating an impressive sight. The Kidotai captain raised a bullhorn to his mouth and called out, "Disperse at once! I repeat, you all are to disperse at once."

All of the on looking students backed away until they were pressed against the school's wall. Many within the hentai horde took a step back in nervousness. Getting beaten up by the girl you were trying to date was one thing, but did they really want to deal with riot police? For a second it looked the horde might be dispersed without things getting out of hand-

"NEVER! Onwards my brave fellow soldiers of love. For the fair flower that is Akane we must face off against these demonic hordes. Let no man run from these forces which some unknown foul sorcerer has conjured to stop us in our quest. No doubt the foul fiend seeks Akane for himself."

Up on the rooftop, Ranma was shaking his head. "What is that buffoon thinking? How can he not realize that those are police? Besides, I choose Kasumi like any intelligence man would instead of that uncute tomboy." Furthermore, Ranma thought to himself, Kasumi's the sorceress instead of me.

Strange as it seemed, Kuno's ludicrous rallying cry actually worked. The hentai horde then immediately charged at the Kidotai. In response, the Kidotai took a defensive formation and readied the tear gas. Eris's voice called out from the heavens, "Let combat begin!" Ranma slapped his face in embarrassment at how his Lady was acting.

The rest of Furinken's students watched on in shock as their classmates fought against the prefecture's riot police. A few of the students were able shake their disbelief just enough to wonder who had rigged the school's PA system to play the Mortal Kombat theme song. Up on the roof Shampoo and Ranma were giving a running count on who was wining the battle.

"Look's like Squad 7 just brought down the science club Shampoo."

"Like those nerds mattered in the fight Ranma. That doesn't look good; the Martial Arts Bowling Club just took down Squads 8 and 10."

"Squad 9 took care of the Lacrosse Club members. It looks like they're moving in on the Karate Club."

"True, but School Idiot just took out Squad 7! Who knew Kuno was that good with a bokken? He certainly didn't show it in his daily fights."

On and on Ranma and Shampoo continued to watch the battle below. To both of their surprise, the Kidotai was actually losing against their classmates. Shampoo chucked an empty soda can away and let out a small whistle as the Martial Arts Bowling Club executed their ultimate team attack: the dreaded 24 Alley Lane Strike Attack. A third of the remaining conscious Kidotai members were sent flying into the air from the attack. Shampoo made a note to never invite any of her Amazonian sisters to Furinkan. It just wouldn't be wise for them to take that risk.

Ranma stood up as soon as he finished his popcorn. He then turned to face Shampoo and called out, "Watch my stuff." Immediately afterwards, Ranma leapt off the roof, did a summersault, and landed in front of the horde. The young champion's feet touched the ground just as the speakers blared out the line 'I am the chosen one'. Ranma cracked his knuckles and calmly stated, "I'm through watching this lunacy. Compared to you retards I might as well be god and guess what? Today is Judgment Day!"

Both the students who weren't part of the horde and remaining Kidotai squad members watched on in shock as Ranma proceeded to open up a massive can of Grade A, Saotome Special Whop Ass. Ranma wove through hentai horde constantly knocking several members out at a time. The members who had been particularly crass in their remarks about Akane were put down harder than the others. He may only be engaged to the girl's sister, but that still gave Ranma permission to utilize brotherly rights and pulverize anyone speaking bad about his sister.

Within twenty seconds, Ranma had sent everyone but Kuno to lala land. Ranma then turned to give Kuno the stare of angry blooded warrior. In a cold voice the young champion stated, "Tatewaki Kuno. You have committed the crime of organizing a mass rape attempt against Akane Tendo. You have committed the dishonor of assuming that you could dictate terms by which Akane could pursue romantic relationships when you have no authority or place to make such terms. You have committed the shame of attacking the lawful authorities of the land in pursuit of your own selfish desires. Far better it would have been for your ancestors' sakes if you had died at birth instead of living to shame their names as you have been."

Normally, Ranma wouldn't have bothered with such a flowery and pointless speech. However, it was probably the only way that the beat down he was about to unleash would stick. Ranma then ran at Kuno like the winds of a hurricane. The young champion immediately pulled the bokken out of Kuno's hand and then crushed all the bones in that hand. Kuno barely hand a chance to scream in pain before Ranma kneed the fool in the spine forcing the wannabe samurai to the ground. There was a cracking sound soon after Kuno was on his knees as Ranma broken the bokken on the boy's head. The young champion then infused the broken stick with some ki and used it to tonsure Kuno.

Ranma stood up and calmly proceed to brush a few strands of Kuno's hair off of his uniform. He looked around at the shocked officers and students who were openly gaping at him. The champion decided to shrug and headed towards the school doors. As Ranma opened the door he shouted out, "Hurry up already! You don't want to be stuck in detention do you?"

* * *

Soun Tendo was many things: an esteemed member of the community, a junior member of the Nerima government board, a semi-retired martial arts sensei, and an emotional seesaw were just a few things that he was. However, the most important thing to Soun at the moment was the fact that he was a father whose daughter was getting ready for a date. Soun was reading the editorial and opinion page of his newspaper with one eye while keeping the other on Kasumi. The eldest Tendo daughter was hurrying back and forth between checking to make sure that things wouldn't fall apart if she left the house and making sure she was ready for the date.

It was rather amusing for Soun to watch. For far too long Kasumi had acted like a meek and dutiful housewife taking care of the family. Oh Soun was proud that Kasumi had so magnificently handled the duties of his dear wife, a tear fell down Soun's cheek, but he was concerned that Kasumi wasn't getting the chance to be a young woman. The Tendo patriarch was ecstatic that fate was kind enough to give Kasumi the chance to be both in Genma's son.

The boy was far more than Soun had figured he'd be. Not that Soun had ever been worried about Ranma and the man he'd be. After all, how could you go wrong with Genma as your father? It was just that Soun was expecting a brash and talented martial artist who would need a little refining before he could be trusted with such a sacred duty as running a dojo. Instead, Ranma turned out to be an extremely powerful martial artist who was far more mature than a young man of his years should be. Soun found Ranma's maturity and his part time job as an elite security guard to be extremely bonuses. Tears threaten to fall from Soun's eyes when he thought about why Ranma was with Kasumi. Oh how his dear late wife would have love that their great future son in law was attracted to Kasumi because of a simple act of kindness!

While Soun was daydreaming, Kasumi checking one final time to make sure that everything was perfect. Hey, it was her first date since her sophomore year at Furinkan. Kasumi had traded in her usual outfit for slightly more form fitting blouse and dress combo. This new outfit was still very modest, but it highlighted her charms more than her usual outfit did. Kasumi had debated about wearing that red dress Nabiki had gotten her as a joke last year, but she was too embarrassed to be caught in that yet.

The doorbell rang and Kasumi quickly hurried to see who was at the door. Ranma was standing on porch looking like he was about to face off against a million demons. Scratch that, Ranma would not have been nervous like he currently was if he were facing off against a million demons. The young champion gulped and then pulled out a necklace. "Hi Kasumi. Um, my boss suggested that this necklace might make a good gift for our first date." He then handed Kasumi the necklace and she examined it.

Kasumi let out a small gasp of shock as she looked at the necklace. It appeared to be made out of silver, but that wasn't what caught her attention. The necklace was composed of 108 different flowers all in bloom. What made it even more shocking was the fact that each flower was her favorite in a different lifetime. She couldn't say which flower was connected to which lifetime, but Kasumi knew that they had all been her favorite flower at one lifetime or another. Kasumi took the necklace and started to cry.

Totally misreading the situation, Ranma started to panic. "I'm sorry Kasumi! What did I do wrong? I'll get you something better if you want."

Kasumi started to chuckle at Ranma's antics. "It's alright Ranma! I'm just so happy with your gift that it made me cry." She glanced over and saw a blank look on Ranma's face. The reborn sorceress rolled her eyes at her companion's antics. Emotions obviously weren't his forte. Kasumi used Ranma's confusion to take the necklace and put it on. She then turned to Ranma and asked, "So what's the plan for our evening?"

Ranma gave his head a good shake and then said, "I was planning on going to a movie and then going someplace special to eat. Is that alright with you or do you want to do something else?"

"That's fine Ranma. Shall we be on our way?"

Before Ranma could reply, Soun's voice came bellowing at the duo. "Bring her back by midnight Ranma. Only exception is if there is a late night clerk at the town hall that filed a marriage certificate for you two!"

A nervous chuckle came from Ranma in response to Soun's antics. The young couple quickly left at that point before something else could happen. The movie theater was about a twenty minute walk from the Tendo dojo allowing Ranma and Kasumi to have a leisurely stroll with each other. Ranma nervously grabbed Kasumi's hand about halfway to the theater. She was surprised by his action, but quickly gave a reassuring squeeze. They then walked the rest of the way holding hands.

When the couple got to the theater, Ranma did as Eris had advised and let Kasumi pick the movie. He got some snacks for the two of them before they entered the theater showing their film. The movie turned out to be a mixed blessing for Ranma. On the one hand, Kasumi was sitting next to him and they were holding hands. On the other hand, it was a total chick flick leaving Ranma bored out of his mind. Seriously, the only way that the film could be any worse in his mind was if the director had thrown in some sparkling vampire wannabes and a gay werewolf.

That exquisite torture lasted for over two hours and then the film was over. One of the guys passed by Ranma as he left the theater and whispered, "Don't worry kiddo. Eventually you'll be able to bare these things without being in pain."

Ranma grunted at the older man's antics and then rejoined Kasumi. His date turned and smiled at him. "This has been a wonderful date Ranma. Thanks for taking me out tonight."

Ranma smiled and replied, "The night's not over just yet. Come on, we still have dinner." He then proceeded to lead Kasumi away from the crowd. Kasumi soon noticed that Ranma was glancing about as if checking to see if anyone was looking at them. She then heard him whisper, "The coast is clear."

Without warning Ranma wrapped his arm around Kasumi and pulled her close to him. A column of bluish-black then erupted from the ground making it impossible for Kasumi to see anything. She was about to scream out in terror when the cloud dissipated. It was immediately obvious that they weren't in the movie theater anymore. The young sorceress looked around and realized that she was in a lavish dining hall. She also noticed that two seats at the grand dining table were set up for dinner.

She then glanced over at Ranma who merely grinned. "We're in Dysnomia Castle. It's my castle since I'm Eris's champion and I had it prepare some dinner for us. Sorry about suddenly teleporting you like that. It's just that I thought it would be better to just teleport than make a scene about it."

Kasumi rolled her eyes. In a way it made since that their date be a mix of normality and the unbelievable. Why was it that she had the feeling that this was how things would always be between her and Ranma?


	8. Chapter 8

Ranma and Kasumi sat at the dinner table in Dysnomia Castle and quietly at the dinner that had been prepared for them. Personally, Kasumi felt like she was in one of those mangas where an ordinary girl was somehow transported into a magical world and caught the eyes of the local nobleman. She watched in amazement and wonder as Ranma calmly ate his dinner, the absence of Genma's presence and Eris's coaching vastly improved the young champion's manners, like the noble lord of the castle he was. Golems of all shapes, sizes, and colors moved about the castle as servants. Several golems were playing traditional Japanese music in the background much to Kasumi's delight.

Kasumi glanced over to Ranma and politely stated, "Thanks for bringing me here Ranma. I don't think I've ever had a date that was as magical as this one. Out of curiosity, how did you arrange all of this?"

A faint blush appeared on Ranma's face and he replied, "I didn't. Eris is the one who came up with all of this. In all honesty, I was acting like a chicken with its head cut off when I tried to figure out what to do for our date."

Giggles poured out of Kasumi as her imagination conjured up the image of her fiancée running about in panic like the typical male lead in a romantic anime. Ranma shot her a questioning glance and the reincarnated sorceress merely waved him off. "I just remembered something funny, that's all Ranma."

Ranma nodded his head, but he was still confused as hell. Why on earth were women so complicated? Ranma doubted he'd ever understand the other gender even if he was ever cursed to turn into a girl. But then again, maybe guys just weren't meant to understand girls.

The golem band in the background changed their music style and started playing Bach as the duo returned to eating. Neither of them talked as they finished up dinner and the servants brought desert to the table. Kasumi selected a slice of chocolate cake with a side of ice cream while Ranma took generous helping of cannolis.

Eventually, Kasumi decided it to break the silence between them. "Ranma, how do you feel about being my fiancée?"

Ranma as so shocked at that unexpected question that he dropped his fork onto his plate and stared like a fish at Kasumi. "Huh? What do you mean Kasumi?"

Kasumi set her fork down and firmly looked into Ranma's eyes. "What are your feelings on the two of us getting married? Does my 'situation' bother you? How do you see the two of us as? Am I just a comrade in arms to you, a 'ball and chain' as some would put it, someone you have to learn to deal with, or am I something else?" The young sorceress sighed and then looked at her plate. "We lie about so many things don't we Ranma? Senshi Eris and Lilith are like masks we put on in battle to frighten our enemies and distract the public. 'Ranma' and 'Kasumi' are masks we put on to keep our families happy. I don't want there to be any lies between the two of us; even a cold, harsh truth would be wonderful with all the lies we live in."

The young champion closed his eyes and gathered his thoughts. Ranma then opened his eyes and took a deep breath. "I don't know what to make of us Kasumi. I honestly don't know." Ranma's knuckles started to turn white as his forced himself to do the hardest thing he could think of: revealing his thoughts to a girl. "There's a lot about you that I find, er, I find interesting. Your caring nature is at the top of the list closely followed by your ability to kick youma ass. When your father showed you and your sisters off, I saw that you were the most beautiful and breathtaking. Kissing you, well Lilith you, really made my day after a fight and I'd, um, want to do that again. Speaking of Lilith, she doesn't bother me since she's you. It's great that you aren't some helpless chick, you know, like in the TV shows."

Ranma's face was now almost cherry red and sweat was practically pouring down his back. This had to be the newest level of hell! Ranma didn't want to disappoint Kasumi by withholding anything. However, he didn't want to say anything since he didn't have an idea about what he was feeling in the first place. Inside Ranma's mind the young champion was wondering where his usual bravo and courage had fled and hidden themselves. Ranma barely was able to whisper out, "I want you". After that, his mouth clamped up and his tongue refused to say another syllable.

Kasumi heard Ranma's words clear as day and blushed as memories started to unfold in her mind. Many men had said those words before to her past lives. Love, desire, passion, and lust were old companions throughout Kasumi's lifetimes. Even though Kasumi's memories of the past were dulled when she wasn't using her powers, she still could remember these constants in her lives. Not that it was too surprising given that she had been the original face to launch a thousand ships.

"Thank you for being honest with me Ranma. It means a lot." Kasumi decided to let Ranma think she hadn't heard his last sentence. An awkward silence descended on the table as Ranma tried to figure out if he had offended Kasumi in any way. For her part, Kasumi was content with what she had found out. She had a decent fiancé that wasn't freaked out about her oddities and who was interested in her. That was more than enough for her to work with and have a happy marriage. Kasumi got up, walked over to Ranma, and gently kissed his cheek.

* * *

During her long life, Setsuna had encountered several events that she wished she could use her powers to prevent said events from ever happening. The Black Death and the Holocaust being to prime examples of things she wished she could change. Currently, Setsuna was seriously contemplating adding mandatory school talent shows to that list. For some asinine reason or another, the school's vice-principal thought it would be wonderful to start an annual talent contest. Setsuna had tried to bail stating the need to grade papers. Unfortunately for her and over half of the teachers the vice-principal had declared that ALL teachers would be at the show to show support for the students. The only way that the teachers could hope to wiggle out of the talent show was to call the principal.

However, none of the teachers was about to contact You-Know-Who. The nut was reportedly several thousand miles away in Hawaii and that's exactly how everyone wanted to keep things. Of course, this meant that Setsuna was forced sit through the past two hours watching one bizarre and painful to watch demonstration after another. Now, Setsuna was willing to give credit where credit is due and admit that the tea ceremony that Sayuri performed was flawless. But one good routine did not mitigate the pain of watching the other performances.

Setsuna would have let out a sigh of relief when the vice-principal announced, "And now for our last contestant. Would Mr. Hikaru Gosunkugi please take the stage and state what talent you will be demonstrating?"

A pale and scrawny young man walked onto the stage and over to the podium carrying an oversized briefcase. Hikaru picked up the mike and nervously spoke to the audience of annoyed students. "I will now demonstrate the summoning of a demon." To Hikaru's surprise most of the students started snickering and some burst into outright laughter at that announcement. Even a few teachers had to cover their mouths to keep from laughing.

Not everyone was laughing at Hikaru's announcement. Both Setsuna's and Ranma's thoughts were the same on this latest performance. 'What the hell? Is that dumbass really going to try and summon a demon in a room full of people? Okay, where's the nearest exit so I can transform when this all blows up. Calm down a second, this is Voodoo Gosunkugi. That wannabe is NEVER able to actually perform the magic he tries to do. Yah, I'll just sit here and watch as he futilely tries to summon something.'

Up on the stage Gosunkugi continued to trace out a summoning circle ignoring the snickers from the crowd. He'd show them just how unfounded their disbelief was; especially considering his secret ingredient. Gosunkugi had laboriously visited the various battlefields Senshi Eris had fought on and collected the magical dust he had discovered was left over from the mysterious warrior's battles. Obviously, this dust had tremendous magical powers and would be far more useful than the dime store chalk his previous summoning circles had been made from.

Ranma and Setsuna's first inkling that the shit was about to hit the fan came in the form of a massive chill down their spines as Gosunkugi started chanting. Then without further warning the summoning circle flared to life. Black flames erupted from the chalk and blood red smoke billowed out from the fire. Gosunkugi was so deliriously happy with success that he started break dancing on the stage. Students started screaming as the smoke took the form of a glowing western dragon's skeleton.

Instantly the two planetary champions jumped into action. Setsuna called out to her fellow teachers, "This way! We'll have to go around the stadium and to the other side to make sure that the kids escape safely." She then proceeded to lead her frightened coworkers to the backstage of the auditorium. Once the teachers reached the emergency exit Setsuna called out, "I'll head back and make sure that all the students leave. You check to make sure they make it out." Setsuna didn't wait for a reply and quickly double backed to a safe place for her to transform.

* * *

Ranma had called out to Shampoo when Setsuna started leading the teachers to safety. "Hey Shampoo! Start punching hole in the walls so we can have more exits. I'll keep ugly busy while everyone escapes." Shampoo wanted to contest her son's decision, but Ranma had already jumped onto the stage. Immediately after landing, Ranma's first action was to pick Gosunkugi up and threw him to safety.

The demonic entity didn't bother to pay attention to the status of its summoner. As far as it was concerned, Gosunkugi was immaterial. What did matter was the fact that it had a smorgasbord of souls to feast upon. The dragon turned its head towards the panicking students and wonder just which of these delectable and frightened mortals it should devour first.

"Kaijin Raishu Dan!" Two vacuum blades raced towards the demon and slammed into the base of its neck. The demonic dragon let out a growl of frustration and turned to look at a smirking Ranma. "Hey ugly," the young Saotome called out in full bravado, "Your fight is with me." Ranma then stretched out his left leg into the air by his side and extended his arms in a similar manner. "Kaijin Raishu Dan Revised: Rudra's Raging Dance!" Dozens of vacuum blades flew from Ranma as his arms and feet whipped about faster than the eye could see. Unlike Genma's Kaijin Gun-Dai Ran Bu, Ranma's Rudra's Raging Dance allowed him to aim the vacuum blades he created.

The young champion grimly noted the cracks in the dragon's skeleton every time a blade struck the beast and the fact that the damage was almost instantly healed. This was unbelievable; he was throwing around enough firepower to demolish the entire school and this creature was just taking it! Ranma frowned and considered is options. Transforming into Senshi Eris was apparently his only option. Now, if everyone would just leave the stadium so he could transform instead of having to be the irritant.

Rage was rapidly building in the dragon. This insignificant mortal was becoming a literal pain in the neck! Furthermore, the boy's attack was allowing its lunch to escape. That was something the demonic entity couldn't stand for. The dragon turned its head towards Ranma shot a black ball of flames at the boy.

Ranma immediately jumped into the air to doge the fireball. In midair he whipped out his cell phone and hit the speed dial. A cheerful voice came over the phone. "Hello, this is Kasumi Tendo and you have reached the Tendo dojo. How can I help you today?"

"Hey Kasumi its Ranma, I've got a little situation here at the school. Look's like there's a practical job demonstration at the auditorium. Want to come over and watch?"

"Oh my Ranma, I'll be over there in just a minute. Goodbye and I'll see you when I get to the school."

Ranma quickly said goodbye to Kasumi and then turned off his phone. The young champion grabbed hold of a nearby rafter beam and pivoted himself onto the rafter. He then crossed his arms and called out, "Eris Planet Power, Glamour On!" A familiar bluish-black smoke cloud covered Ranma's body and then dissipated to reveal Senshi Eris.

* * *

Down in the auditorium, the demon let out a dark chuckle now that the irritant was gone. It was slightly annoyed that the mortals had fled the room in terror, but that wasn't a major concern. Hunting down one's prey always made their terror all the sweeter. The Dragon was just about break through a wall to begin its hunt when a Death Scream slammed into its ass.

Sailor Pluto quickly fired two more Death Screams at the dragon and then walked onto the stage. The oldest living champion frowned as she waited for the dust to settle. "How much bite do you have demon?" Sailor Pluto muttered to herself.

A screech of rage immediately came from the dust cloud and the dragon emerged from the cloud. Sailor Pluto quickly rolled to the left to avoid the dragon's teeth as it lunged for her. While turning her head, Sailor Pluto noticed a figure jump down from the rafters and grabbed something on his back. A loud cry of "Chaos Slash Revised: Oceloti Claws!" filled the room as a massive blackish-blue crescent of energy flew from the figure to the dragon. The Oceloti Claws cut one of the dragon's wings off and sliced a few feet off its tail.

Senshi Eris landed next to Sailor Pluto and called out, "Just who the hell are you?"

Resisting the urge to smack her help, Sailor Pluto responded, "The name's Sailor Pluto. Don't you know that you're supposed to introduce yourself before asking someone their name?"

Both champion quickly separated to avoid a fireball from the dragon. Senshi Eris then shot back, "I'm Senshi Eris. Now I see why Eris was going on about the uniforms the other spirits had selected for their champions. She'd blow a gasket if her champion was dressed in a hentai school girl outfit!" Senshi Eris then fired of a Chaos Slash to slow the regeneration of the wing he had severed.

Sailor Pluto fired off a Death Scream with more furry than normal at the dragon. Mock her uniform would he? She didn't care if this punk might just be the champion she'd been looking for. "Oh," Sailor Pluto shouted out across the auditorium, "and just what would you know about fashion? You're the one who looks like a 80s reject!"

Senshi Eris was about to fire another verbal volley when a miniature dust cyclone appeared above the dragon. The dust cloud quickly dissipated with Lilith appearing parallel to the dragon. Lilith stretched out her hand and fired a Bendis Blast into the dragon's back. She then landed on the beast's head and used it as a springboard to land next to Senshi Eris. "So Stud Boy, what are we beating up this time?"

Quickly disregarding his new nickname, Senshi Eris replied, "A demon summoned by a moron. The circle the dodo used is over there. Oh, we've got some extra help this time."

Lilith glanced over at Sailor Pluto and then shrugged her shoulders. "Pluto, you and Eris here should keep that demon busy while I study the summoning circle. Once I exam the circle I can figure out how to banish it back to whatever hell it came from." The reincarnated sorceress then practically flew over to smoldering remains of the summoning circle.

For some reason Sailor Pluto couldn't help but agree to Lilith's plan. It didn't make sense why by the goddess she'd follow some stranger's orders. However, something deep within the old champion couldn't help but trust Lilith's judgment. Sailor Pluto quickly decided that the important issue was stopping the dragon and she'd just follow Lilith's plan for now. Once the demon was gone she could focus on her oddball assistances.

Lilith kneeled before the summoning circle trying to take in every aspect of it and did not like what she found. "I'll kill whoever made this," Lilith muttered under her breath as she drew on her past lives knowledge. The sorceress was interrupted by the sound of Oceloti Claws going off in the background. "You can't kill the demon Stud Boy! Its real body isn't here. The bozo who summoned him pulled the demon's soul into a faux body that will regenerate any damage it takes. The only way for the demon to disappear is for it to either complete its assigned task or through a particular method of banishment. Unfortunately, the baka forgot to include what the task is so I need time to banish the monster and I can't do that if you bring down the school!"

Senshi Eris nodded his head and put away his talisman; no need to waste the power if he was just going to be an annoyance. He then jumped out of the way of a fireball and landed next to Sailor Pluto. The duo instantly moved closer together to reduce their profile. Senshi Eris then whispered, "Hey Short Skirt, what do you say I take right and you take left with alternating fire?"

"Watch it Hairball, but that sounds good. You fire first on three, two, one!" The two champions sprang apart and quickly followed through with Senshi Eris's plan.

Sailor Pluto and Senshi Eris had almost met again on the other side of the dragon when Lilith jumped up into the air. The sorceress stretched out her right hand and it started to glow. Lilith quickly moved her hand in a large sweeping circle with the energy in her hand trailing behind to create a glowing circle. She then put her hands in the center of the circle and began to chant in Sanskrit. Both champion watched as a vortex appeared in the circle and the dragon's body started breaking up. The body fragments flew towards the vortex and in a few moments the demon was gone.

* * *

While civil authorities tried to sort out the damage to Furinkan, the three heroes had retreated to a nearby building's roof. Senshi Eris was sitting on the roof with his back resting against the door to the staircase. Lilith was lying on her fiancee's lap in such a way that Senshi Eris would get a face full of cleavage if he looked down. Sailor Pluto was standing a few feet in front of the duo and she was leaning on the Garnet Rod. The Guardian of Time glanced at her companions and said, "I think that a few introductions are in order now that we aren't fighting for our lives. As I stated earlier, my name is Sailor Pluto. I am the chosen of Pluto holding the titles of Soldier of Revolution and Guardian of Time. You two are?"

"Name's Senshi Eris, the Warrior of Chaos and Evolution. I got the position by toughest and most stubborn fighter on the planet. The lady in my lap is my fiancée Lilith; a sorceress with more magical knowledge than anyone else alive thanks to several dozen lifetimes of experience. We now know who we all are in superhero mode, so now what?"

A faint blush appeared on Sailor Pluto's face when Senshi Eris asked that. "I don't know you two. I've been trying to find you, Senshi Eris, for the past two months to try and prevent any conflict between you and the Sailor Senshi. It's been such a pain trying to find a 'Sailor Eris' that I haven't really given this all a lot of thought." Normally Sailor Pluto wouldn't have been so free with this sort of information. However, she reasoned that honesty would be the best policy for handling her surprising fellow champion.

Senshi Eris nodded his head and then replied, "Gotcha." He then looked down and tried not to blush as he made eye contact with his fiancée. "What do you think about all of this Lilith?" The chaotic champion hoped his future wife's multiple lives would give her the experience to make the correct choice.

Lilith deliberately wiggled to direct her fiancé's attention to her bosom, reached up with a free hand, and sensuously caressed Senshi Eris's cheek. She then leaned up and started to aggressively kiss Eris's champion causing Sailor Pluto to get a little uncomfortable from the heat. Just as Senshi Eris was about to put a stop to Lilith's actions, the sorceress pulled back from the kiss and smirked. "Now that I've got my fix of you I can give my advice Stud Boy." Lilith then rolled off Senshi Eris and jumped to her feet. "We should stay on friendly relations with the Sailor Senshi. There's no since in us getting into a fight with them while the youma-"

Sailor Pluto immediately fell to the ground in pain. Lilith ran over to Sailor Pluto and hurriedly asked, "What's a matter? Is it a Dark Kingdom-"

"SHUT UP DEAR!" Senshi Eris yelled as Sailor Pluto thrashed about from the pain. He bolted towards his fellow champion and gently scooped her in his arms. Senshi Eris fervently tried to comfort Sailor Pluto and he turned to face Lilith. "She's suffering from a spell accidently cast by the Moon's champion. Hearing anything related to our usual enemies," he paused for a second as Sailor Pluto's body spasm, "hurts her. I saw this before when she was, if this is who I think she is, was in civilian form. However, it seems that channeling her spirit's powers have increased the powers of the spell."

Lilith nodded her head and then gently placed her hand on Sailor Pluto's forehead. She then softly whispered, "Hands of Hecate." The healing effects of Lilith's spell quickly placed Sailor Pluto to sleep and allowed the sorceress to examine the bewitched champion. Lilith frowned in disgust. "What is it with morons using magic today? Whoever cast this spell was a well meaning idiot with access to way too much power than they had any right to have."

Senshi Eris blinked his eyes in surprise. He had no idea how the spell worked; all he knew was that the magical experts in his life thought it was massive blunder. Senshi Eris then softly asked, "Is there a way to remove the spell?"

"Yes there is. However, it won't be simple Stud Boy. Because of the power behind the spell I need either the cast a counter spell while killing the caster or perform a full fledge purification ritual on Sailor Pluto. Option one is obviously out, but there's a problem with option two. Given the completeness of its effects, I can't perform it on a person in good conscience on Sailor Pluto without either her consent or the consent of someone who has power of attorney over her. However, I can't wake her up because of the pain the spell is putting her in."

Suddenly a firm masculine voice calmly said, "I have such power over her." Both Senshi Eris and Lilith whipped their heads around to see a man standing on the roof. The duo's gaze fell on a white man who was about mid-30s with a full and groomed dark brown goatee/mustache combo with a thick ponytail. The man was wearing designer black pants and black shirt with an expensive dark grey jacket. This mysterious stranger bowed his head and said, "Good afternoon Ranma Saotome and Kasumi Tendo. Allow me to introduce myself." He then walked towards the duo and snapped his fingers creating a business card. "The name is Pluto. I decided that since you two were discussing the condition of my champion that it was in my interests to make an appearance."

Senshi Eris frowned as he accepted the card. "How do I know you're telling me the truth? You could just be a good mage who's been observing Lilith and me."

Eris appeared next to her champion wearing an outfit inspired by Disney's Tinkerbell. "Hi Ranma, hi Kasumi, is my heir on the way yet?" The duo shot the chaotic spirit a 'are you joking' glare causing her to wink at them. "All joking aside, I would have preferred for this meeting to be under better circumstances. Let me put to rest any questions you might have on our new companion. This really is Pluto and he does have the right to decide what can happen to Sailor Pluto since she is his champion."

Pluto nodded his head, "Thank you for the assistance Eris. Now then Kasumi, can you please tell me what you need for the purification ritual so that I can acquire it?" The sorceress nodded her head and quickly began explaining what would be needed for the ritual she had in mind. Pluto then transported her and Sailor Pluto to his physical body for the ritual.

Seeing no reason to remain transformed, Senshi Eris returned to being Ranma. He glanced over to Eris and asked, "Why haven't you left? Not that I want you gone, it's just you don't normally hang around down here unless there's something you want to say or do."

Eris grinned at Ranma's comment. "So you can pay attention outside a fight! I'm so proud of you Ranma." Eris quickly calmed down and adopted a more serious tone as she continued. "I wanted to talk to you in private about something that you'll find uncomfortable. First off, let me state that Kasumi knows all about what I'm going to say and she accepts what I'm about to say. Ranma, Kasumi won't be the only woman to bare your children."

"WHAT? How can you say that Eris? I'm not about to cheat on Kasumi-" Ranma couldn't say anything else as Eris put her fingers on his lips to silence him.

The planetary spirit sighed and then tried to explain. "Kasumi may be your future wife, but she won't be your only partner. I plan on you taking at least several worthy and unattached women as concubines. Now I know you're uncomfortable with polygamy, but I need you to have many heirs and I can't expect Kasumi to bare all of them for you. Ask her the reason why later, I don't like talking about it. Just please trust me when I say I have a very good reason."

Part of Ranma was steaming at what Eris had said. What possible right could she have to decide something like that for him? However, Ranma decided to reluctantly trust Eris since she never did anything without a good reason. With a huff he said, "Fine."

Eris smiled and gave Ranma a bone crushing hug. "Thank you for not throwing a fit over this! Don't worry; you won't have to mate with your secondary mates until after you've done the deed with Kasumi. She gets first rights to you as your future wife after all. Now, I might start the selection process before you two get married, it all depend on when I can find women suitable to the position. Oh, if you're ever fighting someone and I tell you to capture them that will be because they're selected."

"Oh don't give me that look Ranma. You humans have been taking mates off of the battlefield for thousands of years and this isn't any different. At least I'll give a woman the choice between being your concubine or being sent to Earth stripped of their powers with enough resources to live a decent life. Besides, can you think of a better way to handle enemies than to convert their strengths into your future strengths?"

Ranma reluctantly nodded his head have to admit that there was a certain amount of truth in Eris's words. He then sighed and asked, "Is there anything else Eris?"

Eris tenderly rubbed her nose against Ranma's and then smirked. "Not at the moment Ranma. Remember; call me if you have any relationship questions." Eris then disappeared leaving Ranma alone on the roof.

* * *

Author Note: If you want to know what Pluto looks like, look up David Xanatos from Gargoyles. For those who might have a problem with Eris's decision concerning possible concubine 'acquisition' method, chill out. This is similar to the Amazonian laws, which Ranma falls under as Shampoo's 'son' except it includes those who you defeat who have either the potential or a skill you want. Also, this HAS been practiced for thousands of years. Don't believe me? Just pull out a bible and look at the rules concerning female captives.


	9. Chapter 9

There were times when Ranma could really get annoyed with his life. After all, he had to work crazy hours battling monsters, deal with the regular craziness that came with being a Saotome, and still do his homework on time. However, this was not one of those times. Currently, Ranma and Kasumi were sitting in a corner booth at an Italian restaurant enjoying an evening out. The two of them were sharing a large calzone together causing a few ladies who could see the couple to let out romantic sighs.

"So Kasumi, how's Setsuna recovering from her migraine?" Even if no one could overhear them, Ranma wasn't about to mention anything magical in public. Besides, the last he had seen of Setsuna was yesterday when Kasumi went to help his fellow champion with that spell on her.

Kasumi took a sip of her soda and then smiled. "Setsuna's doing fine. Thanks to the meds that her doctor prescribed she'll be back to normal in no time. She promised to take it easy today, but she'll be back and ready to work tomorrow." The purification ritual had been simple to perform. It was just time consuming and Kasumi was sure that Setsuna was happy that they were alone when she did the ritual as part of it involved Setsuna being placed nude into a bed of pure water.

After taking a few more bites of dinner Kasumi asked, "How are things at home going for you Ranma?"

Ranma shrugged and then replied, "Same old same old. Pops is complaining about the construction job he has and that 'a martial artist shouldn't have to do such menial labor to live.' I've tried pointing out that if he wants a career as a martial artist he'll have to either become a teacher at your father's dojo or open his own. Since your father doesn't want to reopen the Tendo dojo and Pops won't get the certification to open a legal dojo he's out of luck. Mom seems determined that I should have a younger sibling; either thanks to her or because of Shampoo. As for Shampoo, she's doing fine and apparently she's asked her great-grandmother to come over because of all the craziness that's occurring in town. How are things going for you?"

An ever so faint blush tinted Kasumi's face. Her fiancée wasn't a smooth operator by any stretch of the imagination, but the kindness he gave without thinking perfectly complemented his roguish charm. "Things are going good. Akane's still a little shook up from the fiasco in the school auditorium. However, she seems to be doing all right and the knowledge that there are people out there far stronger then she is motivating her training. Nabiki's behavior is improving and she's stop her embarrassing schemes. I guess all she needed with the knowledge that hell exists to put her back on the right path."

The two then quietly returned to their meal. After a while the waitress came around and brought out desert. Ranma and Kasumi shared a slice of chocolate cake and when they were done Ranma paid the bill. They then left the restaurant and began walking towards the Tendo dojo. About half way to the dojo, the couple heard a loud crash. Both Ranma and Kasumi quickly rushed to the noise ready to transform if it was an unannounced attack. However, they paused when they got to scene and Ranma blurted out, "Ryoga?"

Standing in the middle of the street was Ranma's old classmate Ryoga Hibiki. Ranma, Kasumi, and the rest of the on lookers were staring at the boy while their jaws hung open. Not that anyone could blame them; even in Nerima it wasn't every day that you saw an 18 wheeler jackknifed into the air because it crashed into someone and the boy in question wasn't even fazed. Ryoga's head immediately turned when he heard his name called. His eyes widened when he saw his old classmate. "Ranma, what in Tatarus are you doing here in Samarqand?"

Ranma playfully shook his head and smiled. "Still got that slight problem with directions? This is Nerima in Japan Ryoga; Samarqand is in the middle of Asia several thousand miles away!" A sheepish look appeared on Ryoga's face which just made Ranma want to slap his own face. "Look Ryoga, why don't you come with me and Kasumi so we can sort out what's happening?"

Not seeing a better thing to do, Ryoga decided to join up with Ranma and Kasumi. Once the trio started walking Ryoga spoke up. "So Ranma, where have you been? The boys at school said that you had just disappeared."

Ranma shrugged his shoulders at Ryoga's question. "I got an offer for some serious training and a shot at a good job. Once I got the job I came here to Nerima and found out that my father had arranged for me to marry a daughter of an old friend of his. I and my fiancée Kasumi were just finishing up our date when we ran into you. So how have you been?"

Ryoga scratched his head and began to tell his tale. Poor Ryoga had been in hell since shortly after Ranma left the school. Well, technically Ryoga had only been in the underworld except for a few times when he wandered into Tatarus. Apparently Ryoga had won a contest to visit Greece shortly after Ranma left town. He had managed to get to the airport and get to Greece without any trouble. However, Ryoga's poor sense of direction led him to fall down a cave and entered the underworld. The shades of some Greek heroes had spotted Ryoga wading through Styx and had taken him under their wing.

"So Ryoga," Ranma asked with his voice carrying genuine curiosity. "According to that literature class we took the river Styx was suppose to render anyone who bathed in it invulnerable. Is that true?"

"Yah, it's true. I didn't believe it at first but then that three headed dog tried to bite me and it broke its teeth on my arm. There wasn't a scratch at all on my arm, but I've got the tooth to prove it." Ryoga reached into his backpack and pulled out a tooth that would make a T. Rex's canines look like toothpicks. The eyes of some onlookers bulged out when they saw Cerberus's tooth, but Ranma and Kasumi took it in stride.

Ryoga then put the tooth away and continued to talk about his time in the underworld. "It turns out that the old Greek heroes were a bunch of super martial artists and that their strongest members were later believed to be semi-divine given their prowess. Hercules was a jerk, he's way more into himself than you ever were Ranma and that wasn't something I was expecting. Theseus is a bit shady and not really trustworthy. But, Perseus and Odysseus are great teachers."

Ranma nodded his head and then asked, "What did they teach you? I mean, I hope you didn't spend all summer in the land of the dead without learning anything. Pops isn't good for real spar anymore and I'd hate to lose my old sparing partner."

An eyebrow rose of Ryoga's forehead when he heard Ranma say that. In all honesty, Ryoga didn't have that high of an opinion of Ranma; that jerk who kept on stealing his bread. Odysseus had worked with Ryoga over the past couple of months at anger management and allowed him to see that things might not be as he thought they were. Still, it was surprising that Ranma thought they were sparing partners. After giving the thought some consideration, Ryoga decided that he could use a friendly rival.

Kasumi then joined the conversation. "Mr. Ryoga, it's getting rather late and I was wondering if you had a place to say?" After seeing the slightly embarrassed look on Ryoga's face, Kasumi smoothly decided to make an offer. "Why don't you follow Ranma and me to my house? My father owns a dojo and I'm pretty sure that he would be willing to let you stay the night in exchange for a spar in the morning."

The trio then walked the rest of the way to the Tendo dojo in silence. Soun was waiting at the door when the trio arrived. He immediately rushed out and gave Kasumi a bear hug. "Ah my sweet little angel, you're home at last. I was beginning to worry that something had happened to you."

A faint blush appeared on Kasumi's cheeks. "Oh father, I'm only three minutes later than I expected to be coming home at. At that was because traffic was a bit heavier than anticipated. Besides, it's not like anything would happen to me since I was with Ranma."

"Of course, how could you possibly be harmed with your fiancée around to protect you?" Soun then placed a hand firmly on Ranma's shoulder. "Thank you for looking out for my daughter tonight my boy." The Tendo patriarch then noticed Ryoga standing nearby and asked, "And just who is this young fellow?"

Kasumi quickly jumped in to answer her father's question. "This is Ryoga Hibiki father. He's an acquaintance of Ranma's and Ranma's old sparing partner who just came back from a long training trip. You know how Akane's been complaining about not having a good sparing partner father? Well, I was thinking we could ask Ryoga here to spar against Akane since he's a skilled fighter and unlike Ranma, he doesn't view her as a sister. To be fair, I thought we could offer to let him stay with us tonight in exchange for sparing with Akane."

Soun nodded sagely and quickly made the offer to Ryoga. The fact that Kasumi had effectively played him like a fiddle never entered the elder Tendo's mind. Ranma chose this moment to leave for his home and he got a goodbye kiss from Kasumi.

* * *

Cologne hopped down the streets of Nerima on her staff homing in on her great-granddaughter's chi signal. It was trickier than back in the village given the number of people living in Nerima. However, Cologne had established a lock on Shampoo's signal and not even the great background noise of everyone else's chi could distract her. After a few minutes, the Amazonian elder came to a small townhouse and rang the doorbell.

Ranma opened the door and wasn't really surprised to see a shriveled midget standing on the front steps. In a completely nonchalant manner Ranma asked, "Are you here because of something my old man did, here because something with the Chinese Amazons, or simply here because it's Nerima and something extremely crazy hasn't happened in the past week?"

After a quick attitude readjustment with her staff, Cologne huffed and said, "You should speak more respectfully to your elders' boy. I'm Cologne of the Chinese Amazons and I'm here to see my great-granddaughter Shampoo and her new family. And just who might you be, sonny boy?"

While still rubbing his head Ranma replied, "I'm Ranma Saotome. Unfortunately, I'm the son of that bozo your great-granddaughter has married due to your tribal laws."

"I see you are not entirely happy with your father, great-great-grandson." Cologne's eyes narrowed as she started to read Ranma's chi signal. It was absolutely enormous! Why, it rivaled the power a master martial artist five times the boy's current age could expect to have. It was almost a pity that the boy was Shampoo's son and not her husband. Well, at least she could expect Shampoo to give birth to strong future children given the power of their half-brother and the boy was in the tribe so everything was good when looking at the big picture.

Ranma shrugged his shoulders and let Cologne into the house. "Pops is a good martial arts teacher and can be a decent guy when given proper motivation. However most of the time he is as useful as a tub of lard when left on his own."

To Ranma's surprise, Cologne started chuckling. "In other words, he's a typical male. Oh don't get me wrong great-great-grandson, you men are very useful and anyone who thinks less of you because of your gender is a fool. However, most of your fellow men would think nothing of just spending the night getting drunk a bar and complaining about things instead of doing something about your problems. After all, why do you think it's said that behind every strong man is a strong woman?"

At this point, Shampoo came running down the stairs and ran to grab Cologne in a hug. "Ayah! Great-grandmother, it's so good to see you! I thought you wouldn't be here for a few more weeks."

Cologne chuckled and replied, "Now, now Shampoo. I got your message about the demonic summoning a week ago. I'm not about to let my great-granddaughter or her family stay in a place where such things happen without insuring that you have the training to protect yourselves. It was a simple matter to call some old friends in the Party and get a chartered flight to Beijing. From there, I simply gave the annual report to the chairman and then flew over here to Tokyo international."

Ranma blinked his eyes and asked, "Party? What are you talking about?"

Cologne looked at Ranma and calmly said, "Why the Communist Party of course. All elders of the Amazon nation are high ranking members of the Party just like the other elders in the other kingdoms around Jusenkyo. Its part of a deal we struck with Mao back in the 40s; we keep the province peaceful and the rest of China pretends we don't exist."

Ranma shrugged his shoulders wondering why he was even surprised. After all, in his life, normal meant off the wall insane to everyone else. So, why should it be a shock that Chinese Amazons were in league with the People's Republic of China?

* * *

"Dead Scream!" Sailor Pluto sent out her signature attack to blast a youma that was approaching Lilith's back as the sorceress focused on sealing up the vortex to the negaverse. She then glanced off to her right where Senshi Eris used Chaos Slash Revised: Oceloti Claws to wipe out several dozen youmas that were trying to escape. The recently formed trio was once again on youma extermination. One question on each of their minds was: if Beryl had this many youma in reserve, how did the Sailor Senshi win?

This was the seventh time since everyone learned each other's identities that the trio had to put down a youma attempt to enter Tokyo. Luckily, they had managed to develop a very good system. Lilith was in charge of sealing up the portal. Senshi Eris with his wide area and power attacks took out the main groups of the youmas. Finally, Sailor Pluto covered her partners' backs and took care of stragglers.

Eventually, Lilith was able to seal the breech and her allies took out the last youma. With the situation taken care of, the trio plopped down on the ground with their backs to each other. "This is ridiculous," Senshi Eris muttered loud enough for his companions to hear. Playing wack a youma was a poor decision when it looked like there were only a few of them left. But after almost five weeks their numbers haven't diminished."

In a friendly aggressive way Sailor Pluto shot back, "Your point hairball?" Even though Setsuna and Ranma were now friends, they continued to stick to name calling while in their champion forms.

"My point shortskirt, is that we've been letting the youma's dictate terms in all our battles. We're reacting and that's not a good thing. Think about it. We have to stop each and every incursion because otherwise civilians will get hurt. The youma only need to break out successfully once to win. If we keep fighting like this we're practically begging Murphy to screw us over."

Sailor Pluto nodded her head. "Okay, you've got a good point. However, what are you hoping to do about it? It's not like we can just enter the negaverse and take out a leader to end the threat. That's what got us into this jam in the first place." Admitting that was hard for Sailor Pluto since it was a silent acknowledgment that the princess hadn't done a very good job at thinking things through. Usagi was a very good girl and no one could claim otherwise, but the girl couldn't think tactically or look at the possible outcomes of her actions yet. No doubt she'd get those skills in time; it was just frustrating in the meantime.

"What about raiding the negaverse? You know pop in, wipe out several dozen youmas, and then come back here to repeat the process again at a later date? At least then the damage would be on their lands and they'd be reacting to us. We could also use the raid to figure out how many more youmas we're going to have to put down before we can relax from near constant alert."

Once again Sailor Pluto was nodding her head in agreement. Offense was the best defense after all, and it would be great to fight for once without the risk of ruining civilians lives. "That's a great idea Eris. However, there's one major problem. The negaverse is in an alternate reality that exists parallel to ours in the multiverse. It's not like we can just hop on a plane or take a cruise to get there. Unless you know of a way to jump dimensions, we're stuck playing wack a mole."

A cat got the canary grin formed on Lilith's face underneath her veil. "Getting to the negaverse might not be such a problem Pluto." Both of the planetary champions turned to look at their sorceress friend/fiancée. Lilith used the opportunity to lay her head on Senshi Eris's lap before she continued. "Generating portals isn't that hard for someone with a decent knowledge of arcane arts. The problems with portals between dimensions are energy and location. You need large amounts of power to open a portal out of our universe sense it isn't naturally 'porous' in terms of magical transportation. That's why so many summoning rituals tend to require a blood sacrifice; the life energy is enough to open the portal. The second problem is that you have to know where you're going to go because if you're not familiar with the destination you could end up anywhere."

"Luckily for us, I have that knowledge of the arcane arts and I am familiar with the negaverse after having to seal so many portals to it. If you two want, I can open a portal for us to attack the negaverse. All I'll need is a place to prepare a portal and a goat or sheep to provide the power."

Sailor Pluto and Senshi Eris looked down at Lilith, looked at each other, and then grinned. At the same time they said, "I think we can find a sheep somewhere."

* * *

Haruka and Michiru were sitting in their living room watching a romantic movie when Sailor Pluto suddenly transported into the room. They then watched as their friend and occasional ally shifted back into her civilian form. Haruka put the bowl of popcorn that was in her lap on the coffee table and looked Setsuna in the eye. "It's so nice of you to just drop in Setsuna, why didn't you at least give us a call?" The sarcasm was practically dripping from Haruka's mouth. It's not that Haruka hated Setsuna; she just tended to associate the other woman's visits with upcoming headaches.

Ignoring the sarcasm, Setsuna gave a friendly reply. "It would have been nice to call you both ahead of time. However, I've got to leave in a few minutes to pick up a few rams at a market in Oman and I wanted to reach you two before I left." The owlish looks on the younger champions' faces made Setsuna grin. Throwing the duo for a loop now and again was a good thing; it helped to keep them on their toes and to not get overconfident.

Michiru took a small spoon and elegantly started to stir the tea pot that was on the coffee table. Without disrupting the rhythm of the stirring she began to speak. "When we last talked you mentioned that you were looking for a possible new sailor senshi. Have you been successful in your search?"

To Haruka's surprise, Setsuna nodded her head. "As a matter of fact, I did find the new senshi. I will admit that it was rather tricky for me to track this one down; the newest senshi's mainly battling a foe that we can't detect due to our connection to the princess. The fact that this senshi is independent of the princess means that masking of this opponent isn't working."

"Is she cute?" Haruka's big mouth quickly earned the champion of Uranus a gentle elbow in the gut courtesy of Michiru.

For a second, Setsuna seriously considered revealing that the new champion was a guy. However, she decided that Haruka needed to learn a hands' on lesson about what happens when you assume. "Oh the new senshi has stolen quite a few hearts among the more hormonal members of society." It was plain to see from the glazed look in Haruka's eyes and the frustration in Michiru's that they thought 'Sailor Eris' was a bombshell in a miniskirt. Won't they be surprised?

Trying to change the topic, Michiru politely asked, "What are we to do about the new senshi Setsuna?" In absence of the princess, Setsuna was the de facto leader of the Outer Senshi even though she mostly let the other Outers operate on their own.

"We'll leave the other senshi alone for now. Our basic goals are the same, even if the newest senshi couldn't care less about the princess. Why don't you two just stay here and keep on top of things while I work to insure that we don't accidentally start a war between senshi okay?"

Even as Michiru and Haruka agreed to the idea, Setsuna found herself wondering why she had made the suggestion in the first place. For a second she thought it was because of the spell that the princess had accidentally cast on them. However, that really didn't hold much weight since Kasumi could remove the spell with a purification ritual. Why did she want to keep Senshi Eris and Lilith to herself?

* * *

Ranma vaguely heard a soft voice calling to him as he slowly woke up. The young champion groggily opened his eyes wondering what could be getting him up. He had just gone to bed damn it! That wasn't an easy thing to do in the Saotome house when his mother insisted that his father prove how 'manly' he was. However, Ranma's brain quickly woke up when he saw the face looking over him. "Kasumi, why are you here?"

To Ranma's shock and amazement, his fiancée was standing next to his bed wearing a breathtaking red and yellow kimono. Kasumi gave Ranma an enchanting smile and asked, "Did you not want me to be here?"

Still confused, the young man blurted out, "Yes, No, I don't know." Ranma then glanced at the clock and shook his head, "Kasumi, it's 11:30 at night and we're supposed to open that portal tomorrow morning to go to the negaverse. No offense, but shouldn't you be in your bed resting up for the ritual?"

Kasumi gave Ranma a look that for some bizarre reason, made him feel like he was being hunted. She then sat down on Ranma's bed and gave a sigh. "The ritual isn't a big issue Ranma. I could probably do it without shifting into Lilith. It's just that something's bugging me."

Ranma propped himself up so that he was only half lying on his bed. He then gently touched Kasumi's cheek trying to reassure her while he was still feeling some nervousness out the act of touching her so intimately. "Is it about our assault plan? If it is, I'm sure that Setsuna won't mind too much about canceling the plan if you're uncomfortable about this."

"That's not the issue for me Ranma. What's been bugging me isn't connected to our mission; but I will admit that the fighting in general is aggravating the issue for me. My problem has to do with my past lives and the memories I have of them."

Immediately Ranma straitened up. "What is the problem Kasumi? If there's anything I can do, anything at all, I promise that I'll do it. You have my word as your fiancé and as a martial artist that I'll do all I can to help you." All of Ranma's instincts immediately started trying to tell his brain that he had just made a major mistake.

Kasumi smiled at her fiancée and gave him a peck on the cheek. After a second, Kasumi pulled back an inch and whispered into Ranma's ear. "Thank-you Ranma, that means so much to me. She then leaned in again and kissed him on the lips. Seconds later, Ranma found himself French kissing Kasumi and his mind started to shut down from the feelings of Kasumi's tongue on his.

However, Ranma's mind quickly snapped back into focus when he saw Kasumi reach behind her back and undo the tie of her kimono. Ranma quickly broke the kiss and firmly pushed Kasumi back a few inches. "What? Wait a moment. Kasumi, what is going on?"

Tears started to water in Kasumi's eyes and she looked like she had been punched in the gut. She then started to sob "Am I that terrible?"

Ranma looked like a dear caught in the head lights of a car. "Kasumi, what's wrong?" He then reached forward to touch Kasumi's cheek.

The young man's hand never reached his fiancée's cheek. Kasumi batted Ranma's hand away and promptly got off the bed. "Leave me alone! I'm sorry I came over!"

This entire situation wasn't making any sense to Ranma. However, he knew that it was only going to get worse the longer he let it exist. Ranma thus leaped from his bed and pinned Kasumi on the floor. "I'm sorry for doing this to you Kasumi, but I need answers. What have I done? Please, I can't correct this without knowing what's going on."

Kasumi could barely believe the situation she was in. Here she was, in her fiancée's bedroom pinned to the floor with her fiancée pinning her wanting to know what was going on. The sheer bizarreness of the situation caused her to start laughing and cry at the same time. "I wanted to make love to you!"

"Wha?" Ranma couldn't believe what he had just heard. He was so shocked at Kasumi's proclamation that he let go of her and fell off to the side.

Kasumi used Ranma's shock to roll onto her back and sit up. The motion caused her Kimono to loosen and while still covering everything, created a much more alluring and sensual sight. Kasumi lowered her gaze to the floor creating an aura of humbleness and modesty that others would have thought impossible for the situation. "Ranma, how many battles have we been in?"

The question came completely out of left field for Ranma. However, he eagerly answered it hoping to make things less awkward. "We've been in at least two dozen that I can think of off the top of my head."

"It's been over thirty battles that I can recall Ranma. That's 30 times either one of us could have died from an unlucky attack. It hasn't bothered me too much since we were defending people and fighting in places we knew. But now, we're planning on going into hostile territory. The chance that something could go wrong and we won't be able to retreat to safety has gone up enormously."

"I wanted tonight to be something special between the two of us. I wanted it to be a chance for us to forget about what's happening tomorrow and just be two people in love. My memories are very clear that it is a way to relax before going off to a fight. In previous lives I often would do this to make sure that my beloved lord was ready for battle. It was my hope that I could show you what I feel for you, help you enjoy this time before our battle, and give myself some peace from all of the memories."

Ranma felt like a complete jerk. Why did he halve to over react to Kasumi's advances? It wasn't that he was a hound dog ready to jump in the sack so to speak; He just didn't want to make this whole situation uncomfortable for Kasumi. It was quite obvious from the look on her face that she was still going well outside her normal comfort zone even with her 107 other lifetimes. He bowed his head in shame and almost mournfully said, "I'm so sorry for doing this to you Kasumi. I just didn't know what to think. How can I make things up to you?"

An uncomfortable silence reigned for a few minutes as the two teens tried to figure out what to do. Finally, Kasumi sighed and made up her mind. She gracefully stood up while letting her kimono fall to the floor and then walked over to Ranma. "I came here to be with you Ranma and I'm not leaving until I have what I want." Kasumi then led Ranma back to his bed where she proceeded to show him a portion of what she had learned over her many lifetimes.


End file.
